Sable Tears: Complete
by FierySable
Summary: okay, I know the first part's really bad, but if you just bear with me and read a little further, it gets better at the end, really, it does! So r&r PLEASE!!!


Disclaimer: I don't own any of the originals, but Tina, K'net, Cypher, Hideku, and Justin are _mine_. Please be nice and don't use them without permission, okay? Well, I decided that since people were reading the first part, but not commenting (cough cough) I would just post the whole story from beginning to end and take the other one off the board. Hope you like it!

_Five Gundams were sent to Earth to carry out a plan: Operation Meteor. They were disguised as falling stars, but somehow, the enemy found out the plan and stood guard against them. After half a year, the Gundam pilots are back in space to protect the Colonies from the clawing fingers of OZ and the White Fang. Yet, there is something the Scientist did not tell them, something that they had kept in reserve, just in case._

I leaned back in my cockpit, eyes closed as lights flickered around me in uneven blips of green and red, the monitor showing only the darkness of space and the quiet serenity of the moon's shadow. It was peaceful, as the world was not, all the more beautiful because the world could not compare to its cold dignity. 

__

Earth. A frenetic body of restlessness, of human sorrow, rage, fury, emotions, which had made me what I was today…The monitor whistled frantically, interrupting my reverie and I snapped my eyes open, keying my tracking system. 

"Hello, what have we here?" Five mobile units had deployed from a small craft that was almost disk shape. The units were compact, sleek and smooth, each with its special capabilities. DeathScythe with its cloak shield and the scythe it had been named for. Sandrock, strong, unyielding, with heavy defensive armor that made it one of the most steadfast Gundams and it's two sickles. Heavy Arms, bristling with armaments and guns, a hidden knife that would snap out of its arm at the pilot's command. The Altron Gundam with it's elongated arms with dragon heads that would spit fire when the fuel and oxygen mixed in its specially made tanks. And Wing, the first, perhaps the strongest of the five armed with a beam cannon and saber.

I touched my pad, magnifying each of the Gundam's weapons, artilleries, and smiled sardonically as I saw the sure way the pilots controlled their Mecha. _So, the scientists did send their best to Earth._ I felt the first stirring of hope inside me. Maybe they had carried out Operation Meteor. Maybe I could go back to Colony L12 after half a year of waiting…

My monitor bleeped again and I quickly switched my view to the incoming targets that had begun to surround the ship and the Gundams, frowning slightly. "Virgo Mobile Dolls. They've completed them already." I tapped into their records and numerical figures, statistics, and Unit layout plans began scrolling down my screen, flashing the Doll's side view, interior, and exterior armaments. Shield generators were attached to their backs like circular limpets and I frowned. There was no way five Gundams could handle that, but maybe…

I dismissed the notion. Absurd. Why did I care whether they lived or died? Except, they had the necessary information I needed on the mission…and I wanted to stop fighting…I hesitated.

What if they didn't know anything? What if…but this was all speculation. Only five people knew the answers to the questions I had. The same five that were getting attacked right now. Meaning, if they died, I would probably never know…My decision made up, I flicked my controls to life, gunning my booster packs.

Running my gloved fingers lovingly against the cool metal armrests, I smiled, cracking my chapped lips at the unfamiliarity of the action. "Well then my dear, we're off to fight again." My eyes strayed back to the lonely moon, white with the blue shadowy highlights. "Please, let this time be the last…let this be the last battle. I am tired of dancing…" I whispered to the orb before my engines roared to life. With a jerk, I unsheathed my Flame Spear and sent my Mobile Unit streaking towards the others like a falling star…

***

"Oh yeah, this is _all_ we need," Duo grumbled, slashing at yet another Virgo as it engaged Deathscythe. He grinned with almost savage enjoyment as he his newly upgraded scythe sliced through the force shield with the ease of a knife through butter, "Dolls, Dolls, Dolls. Why don't they ever learn?"

"The White Fang sent out two hundred Mobile Dolls against us, we have to constantly be on alert." Quatre's voice crackled over the communication system, fraught with strain as he threw his sickles against one of the Dolls' shield, the blades glowing red with energy before causing its target to separate cleanly in half before exploding in a brilliant glare of light. "How can they have assembled them so quickly? Why are the Colonies doing this?!"

"Calm down, Quatre," Trowa ordered quietly, "The White Fang doesn't represent the people of the Colonies. They are only a faction headed by a man bent on obtaining power."

"Damn right!" Duo added, the flares of exploding shrapnel illuminating his face briefly, "Just think of us as the extermination force getting rid of a bunch of unwelcome pests!" His scythe swung viciously, cutting into his targets with careless ease, metal flying around Deathscythe like annoying gnats. "Hey, Trowa, tell Peacemillion to get outta here. It's getting kind of hard to protect it, if you know what I mean." 

Static was Trowa's only answer and he glanced at his monitors. "Right engine malfunctioned. Turbo boosters malfunctioned. The Peacemillion is a sitting duck."

"Great, just makes it all the more interesting!" Duo hurled his Gundam into a spiral, cleaving through the Mobile Dolls' ranks. "How you doing, Wu-man?"

"Do not address me by that name!" Wufei snarled back, bringing his dragon-headed arms close to him before slamming them into two enemy Dolls, "My name is Wufei Chang, and I fight for the honor of the colonies!" With that, he spat fire at an incoming target, gouts of flame charring the outer shielding until they overheated, collapsing in on themselves.

SandRock slammed into Deathscythe as slugs from the Mobile Dolls return fire caught it across the chest. Visibly struggling, he managed to right his damaged Gundam, grimacing slightly in pain, "I think we're a little outnumbered," He said, yanking out his machine gun, "We have to get Peacemillion out of here!"

"Peacemillion is still not responding to hails," Trowa replied, glancing at Wing Zero. "How long can we hold them, Heero?"

Heero didn't answer as he activated his beam cannon, blasting a large hole through the ranks. But all too quickly, it was plugged up by new, fresher units as they crowded in on the Gundam pilots, forcing them into an ever tightening ring.

Duo, cocky as ever, grinned, masking his uncertainty with bravado, "Oh look. Only a hundred and twenty more to go. That's what, only twenty four for each of us? Are you guys sure that it'll be enough?"

Wufei growled, "Neither OZ or the White Fang is needed in space. I won't let them get away with such dishonorable acts." But he was tiring, he knew, and checking the amount of fuel left in Altron, he realized that he would probably not be able to make it out alive after the battle. _So it must be. _He thought quietly, not wanting to alarm the others,_ If this is my last battle, then I will die with honor. Wait for me…Nataku._

Suddenly, their monitors all bleeped in alarm and the Gundam pilots all glanced at the approaching target in dismay or cold apathy as their natures dictated, "Just what we needed." Duo muttered, "More Dolls."

"Wait a moment. That…that can't be a Mobile Doll, can it?" Quatre asked, tapping anxiously at his console, "It's…a Gundam?!" The strange black Mobile Unit slashed past the Dolls, dodging their particle beams and returning their shots with a mechanical grace, his weapon flashing around in a series of lightning quick strikes that added to the confusion of lights and colors.

"You can't be serious." Duo said incredulously, checking his own readouts, "Hey, _we're_ the Gundam pilots around here!"

"Remember, we thought that about ourselves individually before we found all of us," Trowa reminded.

"Hey, are you Gundam pilots all talk? _Or can you fight?!_" A robotic voice snarled from their comm systems as the pilot maneuvered his own Unit to take the brunt of the battle, protecting himself and his Gundam with a faintly shimmering forcefield that glowed green only around the cockpit area. He sighted down his arm and twin missiles launched out of two hatches that lay on top of its fist and forearm, causing a mass series of explosions as the shrapnel took down other Dolls in a chain effect that demolished a good twelfth of the Doll Units.

Duo recovered first, joining the fray as he expertly wielded his scythe, "Huh. Talk about bad manners. Got here late _and_ didn't bother to introduce yourself? What kind of pilot are you?"

The voice chuckled humorlessly, "A good one." There was no further talk as each pilot became intent on the battle, fighting with renewed vigor. After a couple more minutes (or hours, no one could know for sure) there was nothing left of the Dolls but shrapnel and dust, occasionally an basically intact Doll floating lifelessly in space, their weapons hanging from limp fingers. 

Instead of introducing himself, the newly found Gundam pilot abruptly grabbed one of the Dolls. "Computer, scan." He ordered, detaching a small tetrahedral from his side. It started to flash and a small beam of colors played across the surface of the Virgo Doll, touching on key points and transporting data back to the pilot through a comparatively thin wire that fed into the Gundam's main circuitry. After a prolonged silence, he said explosively, "_Damn_. A new model. I should have _guessed!_ How could this have escaped my notice?!"

Quatre approached diplomatically first, Sandrock's arm rocking on it's bolts precariously because of the damage it had suffered. "I'd like to thank-" He began, but the other pilot cut him off curtly.

"Save your thanks. I didn't do this for you." 

"Wha-?"

"I did it because I needed to find something out from you. Did you complete your mission?"

The original Gundam pilots glanced at each other in puzzlement, and Duo answered, "The last mission was given about three months ago; after that, complete radio silence."

"_I don't mean those!_" There was impatience in the other's voice, as the Gundam's eyes flashed, not green, but a brilliant violet, "Operation Meteor. Did you fulfill the requirements of Operation Meteor?!"

"I'm not sure what you mean…" Quatre said hesitantly, "We were supposed to receive instructions as we fought…"

The newest pilot seemed to freeze at that, silence permeating ominously through deep space. _"Damn_." There was a small whisper, then "_Damn it!_ They f*cking screwed it up again!" There was a keen edged frustration in his voice, one of almost desperate anger, "Six months! Six months of waiting and all for _shit_!" With those words, the Gundam slammed on it's repulsion jets, moving away from the battle scene with remarkable speed.

"W-wait!" Quatre yelled, moving to intercept it, "What's this all about?" The pilot didn't answer directly, just whirled around, his missiles locked on to SandRock with deadly fury.

"Do not follow me. If you do, I will take it as a sign of aggression and I cannot be held responsible for what I do then. Got it?"

"Maybe we can help each other," Quatre said, moving a few steps closer.

Duo shifted uneasily, "Quatre, just let him go. He's not worth it." But the others were strangely silent, watching the tableau with wary caution.

Ignoring him, Quatre, stubbornly went forward, displaying his customary innocent tenacity, "We're all here for the same reason: to bring peace to outer space. If you have any information at all…"

"This is your second warning."

"We might even be friends afterwards." 

"Stay away from Sable Tears!"

"If you would just-"

He was still moving closer and the pilot suddenly erupted in anger, snarling, "What, are you pilots _deaf_ ? Well _fine then!_" The missile hatch on Sable Tears' arm sprang open and one of its explosives screamed as it streaked towards Quatre.

"Quatre! You fool!" Duo yelled, bringing DeathScythe to his friend's aid, a little too late. There was an explosion of light and sound, and suddenly, Sandrock was enveloped in a cloud of smoke, Quatre's surprised cry ringing in everyone's ears. "Quatre!" Duo snapped DeathScythe towards Sable Tears, scythe upraised, "_What did you do that for?!"_ Duo slammed his scythe downwards, near the cockpit, but that glowing chest shield reappeared, absorbing all of the damage before Sable Tears darted away, a Flame Spear held in its hands.

"Duo, it's all right! I'm fine!" Quatre's tinny voice was definitely shaken as the smog cleared, revealing him basically unharmed, "The missile exploded a good ten meters away from Sandrock. I'm okay." 

"That was my last warning," The pilot of Black Sable said quietly, lowering his arm, "Next time, I'll be firing the heat seeking missiles, not the blanks."

"You bastard," Duo choked, eyes still angry at the danger to his friend.

There was a pause, and then a bitter laugh. "Exactly so. Exactly so." before Sable Tears turned again.

"Wait a moment, will you?!" Quatre added, to stubborn to give up so quickly, "Your Gundam is just as beat up as ours! Why don't you come on to Peacemillion and at least _talk_ with us? Howard can fix your machine as good as new!" The rest of the Gundams had come to encircle Sandrock, guarding it from further attack.

Sable Tears just twisted around, heading for outer space in a series of evasive maneuvers only to be met with Heavyarms, which it promptly ducked underneath.

"What is _with_ you guys??!"

"Just wait a moment! We need your help and you need ours!" Quatre brought SandRock in front of Sable, blocking the escape route as the other pilots converged around the newest Gundam in a cautious circle. 

The pilot hissed. "I don't have time for this shi-" before he felt the cool green blade of DeathScythe rest calmly on Sable Tears' back.

Grinning evilly, Duo leaned his scythe down, just a bit, so the electric currents crackled against Sable's shoulders. "And _I _don't think you're in any position to refuse." 

***

__

Damn, I let my guard down! I clenched my fists in anger, more at myself then at the others. How could I do that? That was _so stupid!_ Keying my comm, I growled, keeping my voice low, "Goddamn you. I should have just let you rot!"

The pilot of Deathscythe just smirked, "Shall we?" He prodded Sable Tears' back with the end of his scythe and I ground my teeth. But what choice did I have really? I followed the other pilots down to their ship, looking for a break in my captor's guard, but he seemed to know exactly what I was thinking and kept the blade there. _Damn._

They ushered Sable into a kind of docking bay, connection cables inserting themselves into its back and shoulders, clamps holding my Gundam down so it would not accidentally fall and smash the catwalk. Too bad. I _really_ felt like smashing that catwalk, just for all the trouble that they caused me.

One by one, I saw the others hop out of their cockpits, and groaned a little in frustration. Why did these things always happen to me? Why couldn't these Gundam pilots act like _normal_ people? 

__

Because if they were normal, they wouldn't be_ Gundam pilots._

Shut up.

A voice crackled on my dying communication system, "You know, sitting up there for the rest of the day won't really help anything," God. That stupid, annoyingly cheerful, smug voice! I vowed privately to kill him myself once I finished this, I thought in disgust, and reluctantly opened the cockpit, thankful for my space suit.

As I got out, the owner of that voice, a boy probably my age (15) with long brown and braided hair grinned, "Well, well. He finally came out of his shell." He snickered at his own wit and I snarled under my breath. Killing him would not be enough. I would trash him in his own Gundam and, damn, who would be laughing then?

I unfastened the clips holding my helmet down and yanked it off, letting my hair tumble around my shoulders in black locks. "All right. What the hell do you want?!"

***

Duo felt his jaw drop in surprise. "_He_ is a _she!_" He squeaked unnecessarily, drawing back. He didn't need to see the faces of his copilots to know that they were equally flabbergasted. _She_ was a very petite female with dark black curls and flashing cobalt blue eyes. A hand was on her hip in the epitome of female annoyance and the other held her helmet in a defensive kind of gesture, her foot tapping nervously on the catwalk.

"Well?" She demanded as all the guys stood stalk still. "You dragged me into your stupid ship now you can at least say something!"

Quatre snapped out of it first and came forward, smiling warmly as if she were a guest on a social visit, "Hello. My name is Quatre Ribaba Winner. I'm the pilot of Sandrock." The girl's eyes softened a bit at his genuine welcome and she stuck out a hand.

"Tina Jordan. TJ for short." She glanced around. "Now, what's up with hauling my ass down here?"

"Why don't we talk about this in the rec. room?" He suggested, but Tina shook her head.

"I have some things I _should_ be doing now." She said, her face going cold again, "So if you don't mind too much, please tell me what you have to say and let me leave." Quatre looked around, a little at loss on what to say in reply to such a blunt refusal. In his circle, these things were phrased more delicately in a subtle dance of wits, nothing like this.

Wufie decided it was time to step in and said just as coldly as Tina's face said she felt, "Before you started cursing and screaming, you said something about an Operation Meteor."

"Yeah?"

"What _is_ this Operation you were talking about?" 

Tina smiled cynically in response, "Ask Dr. Jay that. All I am is the Guardian Angel, boys."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Duo broke in, getting annoyed all over again by her unresponsiveness, "First you start griping cuz we didn't finish some supposed mission, then you tell us that you don't even know what it is yourself!"

Tina's eyes flashed back, "It wasn't _my_ mission to finish! All I'm here to do is to watch over you guys and make sure _you_ finish your mission. Throw that in with harassing OZ units and the White Fang, and there you've got my complete job description!"

"What were you supposed to do if we finished our mission?" Quatre interrupted, steering the conversation clear of yet another argument.

Tina frowned, leaning absently against the rail as she tapped her fingers in concentration. "That's the strange part. I was supposed to-" Then she stopped, as if debating whether to tell them or not before she shrugged. "I was supposed to tell you that since OZ was destroyed and Yuy is avenged, the waltz must end. That's it."

"The waltz must end?" Duo repeated then scratched his head, "What kind of statement is that?!"

"It doesn't tell us anything." The guy with the long bangs commented quietly, "Who told you to give us this message?"

"Dr. Jay," She said immediately, "But that was over four months ago. Transmissions from Headquarters have abruptly ended since then." There was a quiet anxiety that Tina tried very hard to mask, seeming to any other eye only as a nonchalant annoyance. But these pilots were not ordinary people and saw through her as easily as if they were looking through glass.

Duo grinned, "Hey, don't worry about it. Last time I saw, they were on Libra, making life hell for the White Fang." Tina's eyes widened slightly, then narrowed at some inner thought. 

"Libra? He's on Libra?! Damn." She grimaced slightly, muttering under her breath something sounding suspiciously like, "Mission accepted," before she snapped out of it.

"That's all I know and with _that_ mission duly completed, I'd like to be able to leave now."

"But…your Gundam isn't fully repaired," Quatre stammered, trying to stall.

"Sable and I have handled worse situations than our present state before," She smiled slightly as she glanced up at her Gundam, "We'll live."

"But if it's not fully repaired, that will increase your chance of dying on your _next_ mission," Quatre argued, "Besides, maybe we could help you-"

"That's very nice of you, Mr. Winner," She interrupted, a trifle dryly, "However, I don't like being beholden to anyone and as for you helping me, that is also very nice, but I fight alone. _Always_." She emphasized, "Now if you would please."

***

"At least stay the night," He continued stubbornly and I had to wonder at his tenacity.

"I really don't understand you, Mr. Winner." I shook my head in amused exasperation. "I try to blow you up. That doesn't work. I try to refuse outright. That doesn't work. What does it take to get you off my back? Usually they'd be _glad _to let me go after I fired the first few blanks!"

Quatre laughed and Duo grinned, "Well, you don't know Quatre, now do you?"

"Yes," Wufei smirked slightly, "He took _you_ in, didn't he?" An argument ensued between the two pilots and I just sighed. Males.

"Really Mr. Winner," I interrupted, massaging me forehead, "I have to tell the others about recent developments and-"

"Others?! There are more of us?" 

I looked at them, puzzled, "Five on Earth, Five in space. Don't you understand? The ten students of Copernicus that followed the movement of the heavens."

"…" There was a stunned silence before Duo asked, "So…care to call your buddies up for a chat?"

"No, I wouldn't," I said, still a little bewildered. How could they not have known? "Before we left each others' company, we swore not to call upon each other unless there was a dire need, and that we should keep our identities as clandestine as possible."

"There is that need now!" Quatre said insistently, "OZ has-"

"Expanded it's circle of control towards the colonies," I interrupted, "We know. We've been tracking OZ's movements and countering them at every opportunity." I remembered with a wince on the last operation, and continued a little more wearily, "With the newly developed Mobile Dolls and their forcefield shielding, it's been, if I may say this bluntly, a whole bunch of shit for us. Add White Fang into the equation and its even worse; a few of us aren't sure exactly what's going on. So we've taken a place of mutual hostility to both sides, but so far, that hasn't been working too well either."

"Why don't you get yourself organized, work together?" Duo suggested, "We can-"

"No." I replied flatly. "I suggest you leave it at that because I won't call them out unless it's a major offensive action against either side."

Going back to the original topic, Quatre continued, "It's only a night, Miss Jordan-"

I grimaced, "_Tina._ Or TJ, but not Ms. Jordan, please."

"-So you might as well stay." He folded his arms and smiled, "Besides, you're tired. I can tell, and you probably have another mission all worked out for the tomorrow." I wavered slightly, but his expression told me I was going no where unless it was into the main rooms of Peacemillion. I glanced at the other pilots, the braided boy grinning, probably knowing that I was caught whether I liked it or not. The other three were slightly curious, but basically apathetic. No help there.

I glared at the American boy, "I blame this entirely on you."

His smile just got wider as he bounced to his feet, "Fine, and now since you'll be here a while, my name's Duo…"

***

Quietly, I got out of the bed they had provided for me, pulling out my laptop from my bag. After searching a while, I plugged in the computer and flicked it on. The screen blinked then words scrolled down the screen.

PASSWORD: The screen blinked. 

g Trail of Tears

ACCEPTED. HELLO TINA

g Activate prg CHATROOM

PLEASE WAIT WHILE CHATROOM IS BEING ACTIVATED

I drummed my fingers on the desk impatiently, listening to the nails clicking against the wood in an almost comforting tandem as I waited. My eyes strayed outside and involuntarily, I smiled. "The moon is never so beautiful on Earth," I whispered softly to myself, "But in space…"

g CHATROOM INITIATED. THREE PEOPLE IN THE CHATROOM

DarkKnight Hello, everyone. Sorry so late.

DesertFox It's about time. CresentMoon already left. New mission.

Absently, I nodded to myself as I created a null zone around my area, cutting it off from the main data banks of the Peacemillion to make sure no one could hack into my computer.

DarkKnight What mission?

FireRose The pack has been attacking the home fire.

"The pack? White Fang, attacking the colonies?" I murmured to myself, "But they're colonists!"

DarkKnight Operation Meteor?

FireRose No new mission reported. On our own. 

HandofJustice Why don't the Five Stars try to tip the Scales?

I grinned sourly.

DarkKnight Not Five. The ten disciples of Copernicus explore the heavens again.

HandofJustice They're back?

DarkKnight Yes. Mission incomplete. The stars did not burn. They don't know what they were sent there for either.

For a moment there was no new writing then:

FireRose The five who stayed in Heaven must align.

DarkKnight No. New mission. Sable Tears goes to destroy the Balance.

DesertFox What?! 

DarkKnight Copernicus is there.

HandofJustice Why not all of us?

DarkKnightToo conspicuous. Sable Tears can take them out alone. 

FireRose Will the Tears fall?

DarkKnight There is not enough water in the ocean. Can you get me a supplier?

FireRose Maybe. What does the Knight need?

I thought for a moment, then typed quickly:

DarkKnight 16 boom-babies and flame for His lance.

FireRose Will get on it. Brb.

She left the program, accessing another link on her computer and I was left in the room with DesertFox and HandofJustice.

HandofJustice The Knight commits honorable suicide?

DarkKnight Copernicus must not speak of his knowledge. It is acceptable.

DesertFox Be careful, my Knight. Rescue the distressed bards and return to your demesne whole of body and mind.

I smiled, touching my screen gently. 

DarkKnight I will. Don't worry for me.

DesertFox We will all meet at the end at the usual rendezvous after your mission.

He signed off and with goodbyes and words of advice, HandofJustic aka Darian signed off as well, leaving me alone to wait with the blinking screen. Suddenly, two words appeared.

FireRose Got 'em.

***

Duo barged into the rec. room, surprising the rest of the pilots who looked up quickly from their breakfasts.

"What's wrong?" Quatre asked and Duo crammed a tape into the console, switching it on in reply.

Tina's face suddenly appeared amidst the wildly skittering white lines across the screen, fuzzy, but still recognizable, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "Hi guys. Sorry to hit and run, but I had to leave. New mission."

"Baka," Quatre breathed, "Why didn't you ask us to come along?"

"I can't tell you where I'm going, but I got in touch with the other pilots last night. They know about you so should I fail, one of them will probably approach you. Here's a list of their codes so should you ever need to contact them, you should be able to." Tina smiled wryly, "I can't promise that they'll answer though. We're a private lot."

She seemed to hesitate, then rushed on, "I know you guys will be angry, but I have to do this alone. If I had stayed, you would have tried to keep me here by inviting me to breakfast, then lunch, then pointing out that it was too late to leave after that. Quatre Winner, that wasn't meant as an insult, but a compliment of the highest sorts because you have a good heart and good intentions. That's why I have to do this." There was that smile again. "I hope to see you later…but if I don't contact you, don't be too angry. It won't be my fault." The screen blanked out abruptly and the disk spat itself out. Grabbing it, Duo shook it at the others.

"Tell me that wasn't stupid, huh? Tell me that wasn't stupid!"

Wufei looked qiuetly up, his usual contemptuous expression missing as he replied, "Stupid perhaps, but honorable as well." When Duo was about explode in his face, he added, "You should expect such action from an _onna_."

Quatre said stubbornly, "We should go after her. After all, she _is_ a Gundam pilot." The others stared at him, so he added defensively, "She is. And maybe after the mission, whatever it is, we can meet the others. We're all moving towards the same aim, and allies should be friends, don't you think?"

Simultaneously, Duo remembered the time that Trowa had kicked him into prison at the OZ base and the time that Heero had tried to kill him (There was more than one, I just don't want to write down specifics) and glared around him. "Tell that to _them_." He nodded his head towards the two characters that had been silent throughout most of this fanfic and they shrugged. 

Quatre sighed and went into the room that Tina slept in, trying to find any evidence of her surroundings as Duo started ranting at Trowa and Heero, who remained apathetically silent.

***

Sable floated silently, lifelessly in space and I closed my eyes. It was not time yet. Absently, I caressed the armrests, talking to my Gundam softly, "Child of Water and Fire, I guess it's time for the final dance." I smiled involuntarily at my own whim, but continued anyway, "The Earth Gundams are back in space. It's where they belong…it's where Copernicus…the _scientists_…need them to be." I opened my eyes trying to see the moon, but I gave up, sitting back in my chair. The moon was behind the Earth at this time. "At least we know what we're doing," I murmured, "Don't we, Sable Tears? Training begets training and the perfect soldier cannot cry, cannot feel. It is how we were trained, how we live, and how we will die."

I looked at all the flashing lights that surrounded the cockpit, smiling sadly, "That's all life is; the life of a pawn, of a _worm_ that obeys. So we were trained, so we are." I touched the monitors, the toggles, running my fingers through the keys and switches, "A metal toy, a tin soldier, a flood of Tears." I paused, then started talking softly, more to myself than anyone. "It is as they said, isn't it? _When the Dark Knight wishes for the Tears to fall, she should do it for the honor of her Clan, never forgetting that with the Tears comes the death of that Clan. Thus, the last fire of the Pheonix must be the brightest, the best, for a Pheonix rises only once a millenia._" I paused, then sighed, "So, when you dies, so do I," I whispered softly, trying to find it in me to feel anger, fury, at the fates.

I stopped abruptly and shook my head, pain held tightly inside as I had been trained to do. Horrible poetry…The sensors tripped a warning and switching personalities, I began reading the report with quick eyes, ignoring the pain for that much longer. 

"Mission objective: Destroy Libra and Copernicus." I nodded, cold inside, "Mission accepted. Omae wa kuroso…sensei."

***

Shinigami HEELLLLOOOO IIIINNNN HHHEEEERRRRRREEEEEE?????????

Duo typed, getting more than a little peevish, "Come on you guys. If Tina gave me your codenames, don't you think that at least you can respond? I mean, what the heck? You're even more quiet than Heero!" He checked the screen again to program CHATROOM and confirmed that there were currently four pilots signed on. Four pilots that _refused_ to acknowledge him.

"Any luck?" Quatre peered anxiously at the screen and Duo shook his head

"I gotta admit, they are one _stubborn_ audience. The only thing I haven't done yet is start cussing profusely! No wait…Never mind." Duo frowned at the computer screen as if it was all it's fault.

"Don't they know she's in danger?!" Quatre yelled, pacing back and forth, "She's on a new mission and she didn't ask for any help or anything! That's insane!"

"Don't worry!" Duo tried to reassure his friend as he started typing in _anything_ to get them to talk, "She's a Gundam pilot. Besides, why are you so interested anyway, Quatre?"

Quatre paused, a little surprised at himself and Duo's question, "I don't know…maybe it's just that I feel responsible. After all, she did say in her message it was because of me that she left. Did I scare her away? Am I too pushy?"

"No way Quatre. Besides, I don't think a girl like her scares away very easily. I mean, think about it. She saw a few hundred Mobile Dolls and instead of turning tail and running, she decided to come and help us. _That_ is not the action of a scared child."

"But she isn't used to kindness." Both pilots glanced at the voice, then Duo grinned.

"Trowa. What, you decided to join our little game of 'Talk, Gundam Talk'?

Trowa was leaned against the wall, eyes shadowed by his hanging locks of brown hair. "No luck?"

"None whatsoever." Duo stretched his arms behind his back, popping a few joints, "It's like talking to an empty room."

Trowa glanced at the console, then went over, signing on another screenname.

"What, you don't like the Shinigami?" Duo asked, pretending to be offended, but typically, Trowa just ignored him, identifying himself as Nanusha.

Nanusha I am the pilot of Heavyarms. Tina Jordan said to contact you if we needed your aid. We have reason to believe that she is in trouble.

No answer.

Nanusha Can you give us information on the specifics of her mission?

No answer. However, it was a small consolation that the other Gundam pilots did not sign off or leave the chatroom, only stayed silently to read what was being written.

Nanusha During a battle that included one hundred and fifty Mobile Dolls, she aided us in repelling them and was invited to stay on our ship until repairs had been finished on her Gundam. This morning, she left with the repairs only three quarters complete. In such a condition, it would be very dangerous for her to pilot. Therefore, we need information on where she is immediately.

For almost an endless minute, there was no response save the steady hum of the ship's engines and just as they were about to give up, a terse message scrolled on the screen.

DesertFox How can we trust you?

The pilots glanced at each other and leaned forward, Trowa sitting down in front of the console.

Nanusha She gave us your passwords.

FireRose Not good enough.

Duo snatched the keyboard away, typing furiously.

Shinigami How are we supposed to make us trust you anyway???

CrescentMoon If she trusted you, she would have told you.

"Told us about what?!" Duo yelled in exasperation as he typed the question in.

DesertFox She would have told you who we were. Who are we?

FireRose If you tell us, we'll listen to what you have to say.

HandofJustice If you don't know, then she did not trust you enough and neither can we.

The pilots just sat staring at the screen, not typing anything. Suddenly, the screen flashed

CRESCENTMOON HAS LEFT THE ROOM

"Hey, wait a minute!" Duo yelled, typing rapidly.

Shinigami Just give us a moment to talk, huh?

There was no answer. 

"Who are they?" Duo demanded, almost ripping his braid out with the tugging, "What kind of question is that??"

"I don't know," Quatre replied uneasily before he tapped.

SandRock You are Gundam pilots, just like us.

HANDOFJUSTICE HAS LEFT THE ROOM

FIREROSE HAS LEFT THE ROOM

"Great job!" Duo yelled, looking at the remaining name with trepidation. "One more answer and we'll blow it!"

"…." Trowa folded his arms, staring at the screen, "Call Heero and Wufei in."

Duo nodded then ran out of the room, not arguing for once. In a few moments, he came back, the others in tow. "Okay, guys, here's the riddle. Who are they?"

Wufei blinked, "Who are they? Why don't you answer?"

"Because we have no idea what the answer _is_," Duo snapped back, wondering at Wufei's density.

Wufei snorted, then signing on a new name, he grumbled, "Did you not have ears? The onna's first words…" and typed

Nataku You are Guardian Angels, five of the ten disciples of Copernicus.

For a moment, nothing happened, then:

CRESCENTMOON JOINS THE CHATROOM.

HANDOFJUSTICE JOINS THE CHATROOM.

FIREROSE JOINS THE CHATROOM.

DesertFox Correct. Listen then, Falling Stars. The DarkKnight, Tina Jordan, is going to rendezvous with Libra in order to take out Copernicus.

Nataku Copernicus? 

FireRose You know them as the scientists, our teachers as well as yours.

Duo asked in a puzzled tone, "Take out the scientists? Why?"

Shinigami Why?

CrescentMoon They have become a danger in the White Fang's hands. They helped build the Libra. We don't trust them or the White Fang.

Quatre grabbed the keyboard.

SandRock We have to stop her. She cou-

DesertFox It's too late. The Knight has met the enemy. I go now."

Abruptly, DesertFox signed off, leaving the room, and CrescentMoon and HandofJustice took his lead and did the same. Alarmed, Quatre glanced around him in bewilderment.

SandRock Wait a moment! Where are you going?

FireRose If Sable Tears is not at 100% efficiency, then she did not inform us of it, or we would not have let her go alone. We go to provide backup at these coordinates.

Numbers and directions flashed on the screen before FireRose signed off as well.

Duo grinned, clapping Wufei on the shoulder as the five pilots mounted their respective Gundams, "I knew there was a reason we kept you around." 

Wufei only glared and replied distinctly, "I only go because it is a matter of honor. I owe," He choked, "the onna, but after this, we will be even." With that, the Gundams rose to life, eyes glowing with green fire, connection cords and stabilizers snapping off their Gundams.

Heero's monotone voice blared over the communication systems, "Lets go. Mission objective: Rendezvous with Libra."

"And save the Knight!" Quatre added.

In a chorus, the other pilots answered, "Mission accepted." Before they blasted out of Peacemillion's docking bay.

***

They've been building Mobile Dolls nonstop. Scanners show about 1200 surrounding or aboard Libra. The thinnest part of the Dolls' shielding is in the southern part, sector four." I smiled, "Let this be the final dance…" I felt metal groan under, above, around me as Sable Tears moved. "Repairs at 75%, all systems go, fully loaded…sixteen N2 mines to take out Libra." The upward tilt of my lips twisted as I let battle fever take over my mind, "Now all I have to do is get there!" 

Sable Tears obediently roared to life, the Flame Spear igniting in our hands. I felt the power of the Gundam ripple at my fingers as we confronted the enemy. Taken by surprise, the Dolls stood still, unable to attack the unknown target without prior human command. 

"You're nothing but a bunch of Dolls!" The Spear flamed a golden red with a heart of white, taking out seven enemy Units in one sweep. By now, the others had caught on and a faction of them detached from the central group to attack me. I snarled, sighting down my arm, "Sayoonara!" Two missiles exploded from the hatches, slamming into them and wiping out a couple more. Flying shrapnel hit some of the others, causing them to explode as well. A shot caught Sable Tears on the chest, and I activated my shield, which flickered at less than maximum power. 

Raising my Spear, I slammed it into a Virgo Mobile Doll's shield and after a slight resistance, it cut through the Doll like a stick of butter. I whirled to face my next attacker, barely able to dodge the beams they shot at me.

"You have no soul and without a soul, you are nothing!" With a boost, I sped towards the mass of black shadows, juking up at the last minute to fire down on them from above. Sable Tears wasn't moving as fast as she should have…probably the weight of the N2 mines…

With a scream, I slammed the butt end of the spear into the Doll's face, not bother watching it collapse as I turned to meet another. I had slowly been driving Sable ruthlessly forward despite the bolt that continued to slam against her Gundanium frame. _Just a little bit close_ I thought, flicking the cover to my self-destruct sequence off, _ A little bit closer and I'll be able to-_

Suddenly, a red whip slammed against my chest shield and two bolts got past my already weakened barricade. I gasped as Sable Tears shuddered and sent her flying backwards as I analyzed data on the new threat.

"Type unknown, heavy shielding and weaponry…Gundam-class??" I barely evaded his next attack, my own Fire Spear doing nothing against his shiny red armor.

A chuckle crackled over my communications system, "So…a new Gundam. And here I thought the scientists were working for the White Fang now." 

I cracked a malignant smile of my own as I fired two of my heat seeking missiles at him, sending him reeling back with only minimum damage, "Those who fight are enemies of the colonies. On their behalf, I will destroy you, unknown pilot, as I was bidden!" He came streaking up to meet me, a beam saber not unlike Wing Zero's in his hand.

"We'll see about that!" Green crashed against red, creating sparks of energy as the two weapons met, broke apart, then slammed together. I gritted my teeth as the green glow illuminated my face as the pilot of the unknown Gundam brought it closer. With a heave, I threw him off. _The guy's good!_

"Who the hell are you?" He unlaced his whip again, sending it streaking towards me the frightening agility as I dodged, sending a few of my missiles in his general direction.

"I am Milliardo PeaceCraft, leader of the White Fang."

"Well Milliardo PeaceCraft of the White Fang, prepare to die!" I unlatched one of my N2 mines and slammed it into his back as I flew past and it detonated, creating a haze of smoke. I smiled, more relieved than I would have liked to admit…

"_You first!_" Out of the cloud a whip sang against Sable, sending it into an uncontrolled hurtle. With a lightning quick jerk of his hand, the whip wrapped itself around Sable Tears' throat and I bit back a scream as five hundred watts of electricity wound it's way into the cockpit which was luckily made mostly of electricity repelling metalloids. Mostly. 

The cockpit crackled with electricity, fratzing out all but the most basic of my manual controls and I screamed in fury with a hint of pain, "Damn you!"

"You don't know how many people have said that to me," The man chuckled with an almost depraved placidity. "It won't matter. I won." The whip sent more jolts of electricity into Sable and I felt her metal twisting as if it were my own body. I writhed in pain, refusing to cry out no matter what.

"Huh." I whispered savagely, then grabbed onto the whip and with a yank, I hauled him in. I latched on to him with both arms and feet, letting the electricity filter into him as well. "Don't you know that misery loves company, Mr. _PeaceCraft?_"

He gave an infuriatingly calm chuckle, despite the known fact that he was feeling the pain too. "I'll last longer than you."

I grinned, more blood running out of my heat-cracked lips, a smell of singed clothing and skin permeating the cockpit with it's smoky odor. There was pain in my arms, my legs…it hurt everywhere. But I blocked it out as best I could, ignoring the blood that spilled through blackened skin. "No you won't. I'm a Gundam pilot remember? I never die!" Flicking the controls on, I sent out a quick message to the others.

New Gundam. Strong but an _enemy_. Only way is for the four remaining stars to seek out the fallen ones. I'll see you on the other side.

I was starting my self-destruct mechanism when the other jerked free and I snarled, aborting it. He wasn't close enough!

"What, afraid of the death?" I taunted, Sable Tears floating limply in space, held only by the thread of Milliardo's whip. 

"I can't die yet. Not until I show the world the foolishness of war." Milliardo's voice held only a hint of weariness before it tightened to ice once more, "It has been an endless cycle, war, peace, revolution, then war again! I will make the final battle so great, so fearsome, that not another fool will _think_ of fighting again!"

"If you believe that…Mr. Milliardo," I choked, feeling the coppery taste of blood in the back of my throat, "Then you are…truly foolish." I gasped, clinging tenaciously to life. My mission was not complete yet. "The…only way to end war…is to achieve peace…not to fight. Fighting begets fighting, death begets more death. The colonies have no need to fight!"

There was a silence on the other end of the whip before his voice snarled, low and furious, "It is people like you who foolishly insist on keeping the people ignorant, in hopes that they will remain that way, that they will not fight. Don't you understand that until we can show the people the horror caused by war, this fighting is _meaningless_? Until we show them the destruction, the pain, this war, this death, is _nothing_!"

I managed to pant out a breathless laugh, "If you truly believe in this, Mr. Milliardo, show _me_ the pain caused by war. Kill me, if it will bring meaning to your war. Is that what you believe, Mr. Milliardo? Show me then!" I felt him gathering the power of death in his hands and closed my eyes, greatful for this surcease from the pain of living, no matter how cowardly that was. 

"Mission, failed." I whispered for the first time in my life, finally accepting the darkness that haunted the periphery of my vision. I sighed, bitterly. _Thus, the last fire of the Phoenix must be the brightest, the best, for a Phoenix rises only once millennia._ "Dance with me death, for I am sick of life…" Suddenly my screen blipped urgently and I almost cried. Why couldn't they let me go? For I knew who it was, even as I knew my own name.

"DarkKnight, we will meet _now_, not later. It is not your time." The four Gundams that stayed in space sped towards us and I saw Trinity raise it's battle axe, slamming it against the whip, causing it to fracture slightly before Milliardo had a chance to release Sable Tears.

"Wha-?!" The red Mobile Unit sprang back from the concerted attack and Trinity sped after him.

"Meet the _true_ Gundams, Mr. Milliardo," Trinity's pilot, Hideku aka FireRose, hissed, swinging the battleaxe back for another blow, "The _true_ children of the colonies, born only to protect the colonies from scum like you!"

I felt Sable Tears being stabilized by two Gundams on either side of it, Blood Feud and the MoonLady. Justin, the pilot of Blood Feud's familiar voice asked, totally fratzed by the ruined circuitry, but still audible, "DarkKnight, are you all right?"

I tried moving my hands to the audio-visual console, but it hurt too much, sending a fresh splatter of blood careening to the floor. I finally managed to flick it on and gasped, "Heavy damage to Sable Tears, HandofJustice. Don't know if…" A sudden wave of coughing hit me and I bent to the double, in pain not only from the convulsions that shook me, but from the raw insides of my throat and the never ending drip of blood from ruined skin. How much blood did a body have anyway? 

A new blip entered the screen and I feebly moved to take the controls (which were dead anyway) but Justin said with a reassuring lack of emotion. "It's only your new friends, DarkKnight. At ease."

Duo's voice said with cheerful grimness only he could portray, "What, the battle over already?" Hideku had brought Trinity back to the group, the battle axe's beam shut off so it looked as if she was only holding a short, stout rod of some sort.

"Are you all right?!" I faintly heard Quatre's anxious voice ask, but I couldn't seem to speak around the blood that clogged my throat.

"The other got away, Libra with it. They had moved it when they were fighting you, Knight."

I chuckled weakly, ignoring the pain it caused, "Smart…"

"Hey, you don't sound so good." There was concern in the American flyboy's voice and I opened my mouth to reply, but Justin beat me to it.

"The pilot of Sable Tears is experiencing some major shock trauma as well as very probably first degree burns covering most of her body. We request permission to heal her at your ship."

Heero's voice answered apathetically, "Affirmative. Regroup at Peacemillion." After that, the pain that had threatened on the edges decided to swamp me and I fell headlong into a tunnel of mohagany-black darkness.

***

I felt light on my eyes and almost screamed at the unwanted stimuli on half-ruined eyes. 

"Oh shit!"

"Gotta get her out imme-"

I shuddered as I felt gently hands lift me out of my cockpit; even the slight contact hurt immensely, but I forced myself to lie still, hating being treated like a child. They put me on a rolling stretcher and carefully attach IVs and various cold compresses on my body. The pain went down to bearable levels and I slowly opened my eyes, blinking vainly in an attempt to see past the tears of agony that I refused to let fall.

"Report," I managed to rasp and I heard an incredulous yelp from Duo.

"Is she _serious?!_"

Ignoring him, Justin calmly said, "You managed to take out fifty-eight Virgo Mobile Dolls before the pilot of a new Mobile Unit, Milliardo PeacreCraft, attacked you in Epyon. Epyon has a highly sophisticated piloting system developed by Treize Kruschrenada which allows the pilot to have better control of their fighting abilities, but in doing so, they lose touch of their humanity if they are not strong enough to control the Unit. When he attacked Sable Tears, it effectively disabled most of Sable's circuitry as well as induced serious trauma to the pilot." 

He was speaking in an impersonal tone, but I felt the worry in his voice. I blocked it out, ignoring it. A soldier did not fight on emotions. "Full disclosure."

Justin did not say anything, so I heard Cypher, ever the doctor, continue, a little more hesitantly but no less bluntly, "First degree wounds covering most of the body. Arm broken in three different places and continuous bleeding, internal and external. Your clothing has fused in some places with the skin, so it will be difficult, but not impossible, to remove. A broken rib is close to piercing your left lung, which is why you feel the bloody sensation in the back of your throat."

"Is that all?" I couldn't manage a laugh. "Sable?"

"Out of commission for a minimum of three months," Justin replied. "No missions until you heal." I did not nod, but closed my eyes, feeling like one great bruise from head to toe. I heard Justin add in his monotone voice, "You are not to die yet." It was almost like a command from a higher officer and I smiled sadly, feeling blood drip from cracked lips.

"I have it on good authority that it isn't my time yet."

For the next few weeks, it was like living a continuous hell as I alternately burned and froze from the fever that I had developed due to the burns. I knew people were always there, fussing over me and I resented them. Why couldn't they leave me alone?

Bandages wrapped around my abused body, liberally dabbed with soothing balm and someone with cold compresses changed washed my face with gentle hands and sometimes I was lucid enough to stop the screaming from leaving my throat. Sometimes I wasn't and I vaguely heard myself begging for death sometimes. I was incensed. I was a Gundam pilot, no coward! How could my subconscious betray me like that?!

These bouts of fury were always refreshing, cleansing my body of uncertainties and doubts in the heat of my anger. But afterwards, the fever would always come back, worse than ever and those voices would tell me to calm down, to rest. But I couldn't, clinging to my anger as a way out of my malaise because for those few moments, I could think again, I could act myself before I fell back into the that maelstrom of confusion in my mind

"It's not working! She's pulling herself downwards, Justin!" Cypher, MoonLady's pilot, said quietly, "I've never seen her like this before! All she does and scream and when she doesn't scream, she begs to die, and when she doesn't do _that_, she stares up at the ceiling, tightlipped, bottling everything inside to wait for the next explosion!"

"Sorry…" I coughed weakly and immediately Cypher came over to my side, squeezing my hand reassuringly but not too tightly. 

He peered into my eyes and said, a little troubled, "No need, Tina. But I'm a doctor, remember, for all that I'm only nineteen, and in all my years, I've never for the life of me seen someone go through that and survive."

"We're Gundam pilots," I answered, voice hoarse from lack of use and screaming, but better than I had first come with. I closed my eyes against the fever that was rising inside my skin, "We will always survive." 

"You're getting another fever," Cypher noted quietly, filling some drugs into a syringe with skillful ease. "You've been having them on and off for seven weeks now. You won't last the dehydration much longer. Care to hear what I have to say?"

I nodded, not bothering to open my eyes as I felt the cool metal of the needle pierce my skin, the lassitude spreading up my arm and into my body. "I'm putting you into a sort of stasis for a few weeks until your mind heals along with your body. Your anger is not helping the healing process any."

"Hai…" I mumbled, trying to keep my eyes open, but even a trained soldier was no match against Cypher's extra-strong drug medications, "Wake me up in…a few hours…"

***

Wufei was the first one to look up at the unusual sound. Silence. He gave a quiet sigh of relief, "The weak onna has stopped screaming."

"Hmph. Lets see how strong you are with ninety percent of your skin charred into ash," Hideku shot back loyally before she glanced at him, nervously wiping a hand across her brow, smearing engine grease across her face unconsciously. She stepped back, admiring her handiwork with a critical eye. Sable Tears' wiring had been zapped and had been totally replaced with new circuitry and connections. Privately, Hideku thanked whatever deity out there that the scientists, for all their faults, had left _exact_ blueprints that the Space Gundams had memorized, then burned. "Not bad if I do say so myself." She murmured, then snatching a wrench, tested the bolts and nuts of various places in the Gundam, doing an altogether well rounded check. "Good…now the exterior."

Wufei silently folded his hands and watched the girl hop into one of the machines and lift a piece of metal plate with the crane, carefully fitting it over the chest. "Uh…Wufei," There was a slight hesitation on her voice, "Could you…uh…help pump the bolts in?" She called and slowly, like a cat, Wufei unwinded from his place to take another machine, jamming oversized screws into their proper place. 

"Thanks." Turning away quickly she stuck her head out, she yelled, "Hey, where'd K'net take Darkwind, Jus?"

"Recon. mission. Should be back any time now," was the calm reply as Justin attached another piece of metal to Sable's faceplate, wielding the pieces together carefully. "Cypher gave Ti-san some medication and she'll be recuperating for a while, but we should finish repairs soon, just in case."

"Cypher's super juice?" Hideku wrinkled her nose at a memory, "I remember that. Zonked me out for a whole month." 

"That's because you're weak."

"Hah! Look who's talking! First mission ring a bell, Mister Perfect??"

Wufei watched the two pilots banter back and forth for a couple more minutes before he left, shaking his head at his own troubled thoughts. He entered Peacemillion's 'rec room' and the pilots from Earth looked up at him, quiet, except for Duo, who grinned.

"Hey Wu-man. Wussup"

"American barbarian," Wufei muttered, leaning against the wall next to the door with his customary growl.

"So…how are the others doing?" Quatre looked up in interest from the game of chess he and Trowa were engaged in as well, watching their taciturn copilot.

"They puzzle me." Wufei said shortly, "They play around as if they do not believe we are in a war."

"I noticed that too," Quatre admitted, his face a little confused, "Yesterday, that girl, Hideku decided that she didn't like the design specifications on Sable Tears and started redesigning the cockpit to have bunny prints over the walls."

Duo's ears pricked up, "She did?" He grinned, trying to imagine a Gundam dotted with little white bunnies and added, "I might just help her…"

"They decided against it," Quatre interrupted, stifling a smile behind his hand, "But I still don't understand how-"

"Maybe I could shed a little light on it," A voice came from the door and they turned to see Cypher walking into the room, holding an empty vial, "I was wondering where the morphine was." He explained, giving the jar a little shake, "I'm out."

"You walk quietly," Trowa commented from his seat and Cypher shrugged, tactically agreeing.

"As to why we're such a gregarious group, it wasn't always like that," Cypher took a seat, setting the vial on the table, "At first, we had no idea that other Gundams besides our individual selves existed either. When we finally met, it was on opposite sides of the battlefields," Cypher remembered, grimacing, "Hideku and Justin came very close to killing one another on the spot and Tina stood by, waiting to challenge the victor of that match to the death. We finally got things straightened out a few weeks later and it took another three months for everyone to finally get along. It's still a little hard sometimes."

Quatre leaned forward, interested, as Trowa pondered his next move, "How so?"

"Different backgrounds," Cypher replied, "Justin and I have known each other since we were children. Our families are both somewhat well endowed and have been close family friends. K'net was a computer hacker who found some files that sounded interesting and decided to meet up with the people who were going against Earth. In the end, he met up with Dr. H. and decided to take a place as a Gundam pilot. Hideku…" Cypher hesitated, then hastily amended, "Let's not talk about Hideku."

"Naw, it's all good," Hideku grinned, but looked decidedly uneasy, as she walked through the door, engine grease still smeared across her forehead, "What Dr. Cypher Ikagi here is trying _not_ to say is that I was a kid that my parents sold into prostitution when I was about ten." She was still smiling, but shadows had crossed her eyes as she shrugged, "Dr. J. thought that I was smart enough and determined enough, so he took me in. He took all my hatred and molded me into what I am today?" She gestured vaguely around, "All that anger gives me a little boost when we're in a fight anyway." She glanced down at her hands as they twisted a small square of cloth into a knot, so she missed entirely the intense look of sympathy and quiet support that Trowa shot her before closing back up. 

"And Tina?" Heero asked and everyone looked at him.

"That's the first time you've spoken," Hideku commented, glancing away from the Japanese pilot, "Almost thought you didn't have it in you. Now, you will _not_ believe what happened to me on-"

"Tina." Heero interrupted quietly, not being one to speak much.

There was a pause. "I don't think I'll answer that, Heero Yuy." Her voice was angry, almost…frightened? She was twisting the cloth around her fingers in an absent, nervous, way.

"Aw...come on. Just a hint?" Duo weedled, but it only seemed to get Hideku angrier. 

Her eyes hardened as she stood up, hands clenched at her sides. In a moment, she had turned from a cheerful, if shy fifteen-year old girl to a trained and dangerous assassin. "One thing you _never_ do is ask about Tina's past. _Never._ Not even you. _If _she decides to tell us, and _if _she feels comfortable around us, _then_ she'll tell us. Until then, _don't ask_. Now if you'll excuse me, Sable's really beat up." Turning on her heel, she stormed out of the room.

"What did we say?!" Duo asked, totally bewildered.

Justin looked at him in apologetic embarrassment. "Hideku and Tina are as good a friend as Tina will permit them to be. Out of all of us, I think Tina trusts Hideku the most so they're intensely loyal to one another. Please don't be offended, Heero."

Heero just shrugged and went back to his own brooding thoughts. Duo on the other hand, grinned, "You can't do much to upset _him_, Justin. Now about those bunny prints…"

Justin groaned, dropping his head in his palms, "Bunny prints. It took me five _hours_ of arguing with Hideku. I've had to keep an eye on her for…oh _shit_! Hideku, don't you dare! If I don't kill you, _Tina will!!_" Suddenly Justin shot to his feet and went running down the hall towards the docking bay that sheltered Sable. Duo, ever curious, got up and followed them out, grinning. Bunny prints. 

This left Cypher back in square one: alone with the Gundam pilots. He smiled wryly, standing up, "And there you have it. Excuse me if you will, but I'm going to check on Tina right now." He glanced at his watch, "She'll need her nutrient injection." He also left, leaving the remaining pilots staring at each other in a kind of daze.

"What was that?" Quatre asked uncertainly.

Trowa shrugged and moved his queen. "Checkmate."

***

"Uh…where am I…" I sat up, putting a shaky hand to my head, shivering a little as the blanket fell to my hips. 

"On Peacemillion." Cypher appeared, stethoscope raised and I grimaced as he touched the cold metal to my chest, listening to me breathe. "You've been gone for a good three and half months after your battle." He paused, looking down at me. Then a faint smile traced the nineteen-year old doctor's lips. "You look like hell."

I stared at him for a moment, then laughed, my voice coming out harsh and rasping. "I feel like hell."

"Well, a few hundred watts of energy flowing into your brain will do that to you," Cypher said with gently humor. "You're lucky to be alive."

Was I? I bit my lip, seriousness coming back into my eyes all too soon and I suddenly felt too old for my fifteen years. Throwing back the sheets, I tried to get up and stumbled as Cypher caught me, frowning sternly like the doctor he was.

"And where, do you _think_ you're going?" He demanded, setting me back in the bed.

"Out!" I tried to glare at him, but like all Gundam pilots, he was unaffected and glared right back at me.

"No." He said firmly, "You came in mangled and more than half way dead. It took me a long time to repair you, and knowing you, you'll just go out there and give me _more_ work to do!"

I sputtered, staring at him in murder, "This is an injustice!"

"Injustice huh?" We snapped our heads around and saw Duo's grinning face staring at both of us, "Watch out, you'll start sounding like Wufei!" I glared at him.

"I do _not _sound like Chang Wufei, Duo Maxwell and furthermore…wait a minute…" Suddenly I felt the color drain out of my face, "Sable!" I yelped and made a beeline for the doorway. Unfortunately, Cypher intercepted me halfway out of the bed and patiently dumped me back in. I scowled. "Cypher…"

"Sable Tears is _fine_," Cypher emphasized, "Justin took over reconstruction of it okay? And no, Hideku did not put bunny prints in the cockpit." I slumped over in relief. The scene swan in front of my eyes as if I were seeing things through warped glass, and I sat up straight, hoping the chaotic colors and swirls would stop.

"Eyes?" Cypher asked peering into my face.

"Hai." I muttered an affirmative, rubbing a hand across the offending parts, "It's hard to see."

Cypher frowned, "Go back to bed. We don't know the extent of the optic damage you suffered from electric backlash. And _next _time, try not to attack a base with one to a billion odds."

Duo smirked, "Sounds like something I would do," He muttered, leaning against the wall. I had noticed this was perhaps one of the favorite poses of a Gundam pilot, but unlike the others, Duo held himself up more relaxed with a confident, but never arrogant air. "But _I _would have won." He grinned cheerfully at me.

I ignored his last comment and turned to the blob that made up Cypher's face. "I have to analyze the battle-data of the new Mobile Unit and practice counterattacks against that whip attack of his." I wobbled as I stood up, careful not to let my eyes cross, "He's a very dangerous enemy. And his Unit moves quickly, almost like a snake. I could hardly _touch_ him with an N2 mine. He brushed it off like it was dust." 

I stumbled, falling against one of the tables with a gasp of pain as it jarred my broken arm. And the scene in front of me refused to stop swimming. I hated this show of weakness, and refusing Cypher's help with a shake of my head, I stood up dizzily and started walking out the door in slow, measured steps, a look of concentration and suppressed pain showed in the grim set of my jaw.

I _hated_ showing weakness. I _wouldn't_. "Thank you for your help, Cypher." I almost choked on the next words, "I owe you one. Anything you need…"

He laughed softly, "Don't worry, I'll collect eventually. It's what always happens, right?" I smiled at him and staggered out of the room, beads of sweat already dripping down my face, "Your room is the third one on the right!" Cypher called and I waved am understanding hand as I walked out of the room, leaning heavily against the wall as I inched slowly into the designated room. As soon as I got in, I clicked the door shut and locked it, sighing in relief. My few articles of belongings were spread out neatly on the bed and grabbing my laptop, I flipped it open and plugged it in, sitting heavily into a seat. 

Fumbling around in my duffel, I withdrew a small chip that contained the information I had scanned off of Epyon before Milliardo had decided to fratz my system. With a shaky hand, I turned on the lights and began studying the Mobile Unit layout, barely able to make out the lines and numbers…

***

"You just _let_ her outta here?" Duo scratched his head as he looked at Cypher, "Man, _I_ woulda kept her in bed 'til she stopped seeing stars!"

"The doctor in me would very much like to do the same thing," Cypher said, straightening out his medicines, "But now she's in a semi-lucid state, she won't even take common painkillers to dull the discomfort of burns and broken bones. She has too much pride for that."

"Huh?"

Cypher gave him a glance of shared exasperation, "She thinks it is a weakness."

"Oh boy." Duo laughed, his violet eyes snapping with humor, "Just like the Wu-man." 

***

Someone was knocking on the door. I shook my head blurrily and yelled, "Who's it?"

There was no reply, so I lurched to my feet and stumbled across the room to the doorway. My hand slipped on the lock and I cursed slightly before I managed to get the door cracked open. "Yeah?"

Heero stood silently in the hallway and handed me a sheaf of papers. A glance told them they were the schematics for the new designs that Hideku and Justin had wrought on Sable Tears. "Thanks." I took them from him, thumbing through the papers, but I couldn't really see anything. My eyes weren't that good yet, even though my coordination had improved somewhat.

Annoyed, I folded them in half and lay them on the table, nodding at the taciturn pilot before I attempted to close the door again. A hand caught it and gently, but firmly forced it back open. He didn't change expression, but I saw him take in all the personal aspects of the room, especially the mess of wires on the desk.

"Find anything?" He asked and I shook my head.

"Nothing I didn't know before." He quirked his brow and I sighed in quiet exasperation, following his unspoken demand to continue, "The Mobile Unit, Epyon, is very quick, it's main weapons, a beam sabre and a whip. The Gundanium alloy is stronger than any I've ever encountered." I shrugged, trying to keep my eyes focused. "Anything else?"

"Do you know who the pilot is?"

"Milliardo PeaceCraft." I answered, wondering what he was getting at.

He glanced calmly at me with emotionless eyes, "Zechs Marquis." 

"Zechs Ma-" I paused, ice running down my spine like a cold snap. "How did you find out?" He knew I was not referring to the pilot of the new Mobile Unit.

Ignoring the question, he turned, walking back out. At the doorway, he paused, half-turning towards me. "Don't make it personal. You'll jeopardize the mission." Before the door closed quietly behind him. I sat down on the bed, eyes narrowed, barely noticing his exit.

"So…Zechs, Lightning Count." Drawing a dagger out of my duffel, I studied the flawless beauty of the blade before hurling it at the door. "You will be _mine_," I vowed softly, "I'll cut your heart out, then I'll bathe in your blood."

More determined than ever, I swallowed a few stimulant pills and ordering my eyes to get back into working order, sat down at the computer and began making battle plans.

***

"Hideku, can I talk to you for a moment?" Hideku looked up from polishing her Gundam, grinning with good humor.

"What, I already repaired your Gundam and you want _another_ favor? Already? You're gonna be owing me for the rest of your life if this continues," She said before she noticed the harsh expression on Tina's face. Frowning, she was gazed at her gaunt form and the exhausted determination in her friend's eyes, usually a cobalt blue, but today, it was more of a smoky black. She was barely standing up, one arm braced against Trinity's shiny metal side and her whole body was trembling and shivering from the aftershocks of her battle and treatment. "You should be resting," Hideku added, becoming slightly worried.

Tina gestured towards her room, "Let's talk in there. It's private." Hideku nodded, the soldier in her pushing the friend part into the background as she stood and walked with Tina to her room. After they locked the door, Tina turned to Hideku, allowing her weariness to show as she slumped over . "Hideku, I need your help."

"I…had already gathered that much." Hideku said carefully, "What's on your mind?"

"Epyon."

"No prob." Hideku smiled, relieved that it was such a little thing. "With me, you, Jus, K'net, and Cypher, we'll be able to-"

"No, I mean I have to learn to fight him alone," Tina interrupted, avoiding Hideku's gaze.

Hideku was silent a moment, bewilderment and no small amount of hurt puncturing her façade of good humor, "I don't get it, Ti. We're a team. We always have been."

"But…not this time." Tina glanced quickly at Hideku before looking down again. "I know you're wondering, but I can't tell you yet. Not until the mission's finished. Please?"

Hideku looked at her friend, wondering, not for the first time, what past she shielded beneath her icy demeanor. Whoever this Epyon pilot was, he had obviously hurt her badly, not only from the battle, Hideku guessed. Tina would never hold a grudge for a soldier doing what he was trained to do; if the positions had been reversed, Tina would definitely have to have killed him. 

She was letting this get personal, something that was dangerous in their position. A soldier should have no deep feeling, no deep hatred or love, only a single-minded focus on her mission and its ultimate completion. But without Hideku's help, she would forge ahead anyway, make her own battle plans, train on her own. An emotional soldier was dangerous, but an emotional and ill-prepared one didn't stand a chance against any enemy.

Hideku nodded slowly, accepting her role as Tina's advisor and teacher. Explanations would come later. "All right. I can see by the way you keep on trying to refocus your eyes and sit up straight that you aren't fully healed, so first thing, _get some rest_. We'll start practice tomorrow, okay?"

Tina opened her mouth to protest, then hesitated, changing her mind as she sighed. "Okay. See you tomorrow." Hideku nodded and took Tina's laptop, disks, etc. "Just so I can study it a little before I have to train a ditz like you," Hideku explained and Tina groaned, shaking her head. 

But a ghost of a smile hovered at her lips, a slight relaxing of the eyes, made her look much better…and much younger. Hideku slipped out of the room and closed the door, heading towards the rec. room with her supplies. It was time to get some analyzing done.

***

Hideku was typing quickly, absorbing all the information on the Epyon in with wonderment. Such powerful machine! Strong, sleek, it had virtually _no_ weaknesses. Reinforced Gundanium alloy, not one, but _two_ hand to hand weapons and generated shielding. Weapons perfect for a knight, Hideku realized. All combat weapons were hand to hand. The shielding was there, like a crest of honor. The hints of a draconic structure, the mythical beast that was almost immortal in Saxon lore.

"Incredible." She breathed, looking at the combat data that Tina had collected during her battle with it. "The perfect Knight. Faster by far, more technologically advanced than any of _ours_, made by a genius," Hideku grinned sardonically then, "Or another scientist afflicted by madness. But I can't find a weakness _anywhere_." She sighed heavily, stretching, her vertebrae cracking. It was way into midnight and she was still working busily. She couldn't help it.

"In everything, there is a weakness. It only has to be found." Hideku almost fell off her swivel chair as she spun it around to face the intruder. Trowa regarded her calmly with his unnerving gaze, his hair covering half of his face like a mask. 

__

I didn't even hear him come in, Hideku thought uneasily_ And I've been _trained_ to notice these things. _Outwardly, she just nodded flippantly, turning back to her work. "Uh huh. That's what I'm doing."

"What have you found?"

"Nothing I didn't expect. It _did_ beat Tina, after all, and she's not the worst of our lot."

"She's the best?"

"Hardly," Hideku said, snorting quietly as the light radiating from the laptop threw eerie shadows across her face, "Justin's probably the best. I come in a close second though. Tina runs too high on emotions, though she doesn't show much of them. She bottles them in until crunch time, and then, lets all hell runs loose. Forget the training, she just slams in as best she can."

"And you are the perfect soldier." There was a mocking sound to that quiet statement, almost as unnerving as his green eyes stared emotionlessly at the back of her head.

Hideku bristled silently, but replied, "I was trained to be the best. My training defines who I am, so yes. I am." She tapped an area on Epyon's chestplate, looking for even the most minute flaw. But the hull was perfect, no warped edges or uneven heating or cooling to cause the metal to become brittle. She sighed. Nothing there.

"But you are afraid."

"?" Hideku asked absently. The data was almost fantastically impossible. Someone had spent a lot of time drawing up the schematics.

"Your past."

Hideku stiffened, almost imperceptibly, but forced her fingers to keep on moving. Her mind, however, was riveted on the young man that stood at her back as data flashed into unseeing eyes. "I don't understand what you mean."

"You are afraid of who you were, your weaknesses as a child when you couldn't defend yourself. That's why you are working so hard to model yourself into the perfect soldier."

"Everyone has a past, Trowa Barton. It's whether you allow yourself to relive it or push past it that makes you weak or strong. I've gotten past who I was, now. I'm not a child anymore; I'm a fully trained Gundam pilot. When I'm in Trinity, I don't have to be afraid of anything."

"Is that why you were nervous when you talked to Wufei and Heero?" His voice was slightly closer and she sprang out of her seat, slowly backing away from Trowa, eyes reflecting unease and fear of an unknown male that she still felt after all these years.

"I don't know what you're getting at, Trowa, but I'm fine. _Fine_. As to what you're suggesting, I _do_ have guy friends. Jus, Cypher, and sometimes K'net. I just don't trust you _or_ your motives." Hideku clenched her hands into fists, the nails biting into her palms like ten tiny knives. _How dare he expose her fears?!_

"You don't trust us because we're _males_." Trowa corrected quietly, arms folded across his chest, "And we intimidate you. Especially Heero."

"You're wrong!" Hideku retorted, a desperate edge to her voice, "Yuy intimidates _everybody _sooner or later."

"Is that why you're shivering?" Trowa's soft logic made her furious, pushing away some of the fear. She latched onto the anger gratefully, narrowing her eyes.

"What, you're ego needs inflating, Mr. Barton? I've been to hell and back, killed hundreds. If I could do that, something like you won't be able to scare me!" _ And I won't let you_. Hideku added fiercely. _I've come too far to be scared of anyone like you!_ "Meanwhile, I suggest you leave." Hideku yanked out her Colt .45 aiming it straight for Trowa's chest. She noted with scant relief that her hands did not tremble.

He regarded the gun silently, not coming closer, but not leaving either. Suddenly without warning, he leaped into the air and Hideku cursed silently, her bullet slamming into the wall. With a whirl, he landed right in front of her, neatly pinning her gun hand to the wall, holding the tendons on her wrist until it went numb so she was forced to drop it. 

"Bastard!" She spat in his face, her other hand caught and pinned above her head. Trowa studied the angry girl in front of him silently as she panted in fear and no small amount of fury.

"You'll have to get over your fear sooner or later, Hideku, pilot of Trinity. Or you will let it rule your life forever." A soft patter of feet rang against the metal corridor and they moved away from each other swiftly as Tina exploded into the room, her gun already cocked. She focused her eyes with some difficulty as the others filed in after her, staring wide-eyed at the two combatants.

"What? Someone just start _another_ war?" Duo asked, his hair unbraided and his violet eyes still muzzy with sleep. Characteristically, everyone ignored him as Wufei and Heero tensed in battle-readiness and Cypher and Justin glanced between Trowa and Hideku, noting her fear as they stood in the doorway.

"We heard gunshots. You okay, Hideku?" Tina stood slightly in front of her friend, positioning herself subtly in between Hideku and Trowa, her eyes never leaving the tall Latin youth, "Nothing wrong?" Hideku looked at her friend, and the unspoken message. _Need me to kill him?_ She was really asking, and Hideku knew that Tina would really try to kill Trowa and god damn the consequences at her signal.

"N-no." Hideku was still shaking a little, but had managed to get a hold on herself, bolstering herself on her training, "Trowa and I were just talking about dealing with the past…is all. You can put down the gun now Tina." A trace of irritation crept into Hideku's shaken voice as Tina just glared suspiciously at Trowa, refusing to put down her weapon. "You can hardly see _anyway_ and you'll probably end up shooting Justin through the head! I mean it!"

Tina hesitated a moment longer before jamming the Dostedevl D44 into her belt and glared in a sort of unfocused way at the rest of pilots who were just staring. "Okay people, peep show's over. Move out, _now!_" She plunked her hands on her hips and under her gaze, the others left slowly, one by one. As Trowa moved past her, she caught his arm, dangerous blue fire spitting out of her eyes. "Hurt her, Barton, I'll kill you." She said softly so only he could hear.

Trowa looked silently ahead, then replied in an equally soft tone of voice, "I doubt you'd be able to…but you won't need to try. That isn't my aim." Tina looked at the unwavering dark profile for a moment longer, then nodded slowly, releasing his arm and watched as he disappeared like a shadow into the gray corridors.

Turning back to Hideku, Tina watched as she leaned against the wall, silent tears running down her face, hands clasped loosely around the Colt. Tina's gut twisted in shared pain and her eyes hardened furiously at a certain tall clown. "'Deku-"

"I'll be okay, Ti. Just give me minute, will you?" 

Tina drew a breath and refused, hugged the crying pilot to her awkwardly with a slight grimace. She wasn't good at this sort of thing. Suddenly, she wished Cypher had stayed to make this all better. "I don't know what he said, but if you ever need me to, I'll be happy to chop him and his Gundam into little bits and hand them to you on a platter made of his chestplate." Hideku sobbed a laugh, clutching the lapels of Tina's blouse. "Hey…it's all right, 'Deku. If you want, I'll kill him _now_."

"Don't…" Hideku dried her tears, building her barricades back up, slowly but surely. She smiled weakly, "We still need all our pilots for the final battle."

Tina smiled back, but it there was a momentarily distant look on her face, "Yeah, we do." She then glared at Hideko, "You're telling _me_ to get some sleep? _You're_ the one that looks like hell, not me. I'm sure I'm not the only one seeing double. Go to bed. It's…" Tina glanced at the clock, "Two thirty. Go to sleep!" Hideko nodded weakly and got up. 

"I'll see you in the morning, Ti."

Tina nodded absently, putting her gun on the table as the door closed behind Hideko. _No sense in wasting time since I'm already up_ She thought reasonably, cracking her knuckles. Anyone walking down the halls that night would have heard the distinct tapping of finger on computer keys, and occasionally, some cursing, nothing more.

***

I stretched fitfully, rolling my shoulders and neck to ease tense muscles. It was five o' clock and I had just found, to my surprise, a large, empty room that almost screamed _gym_ to me. I was not in the battle-dress of my Clan, the Vorcel Hawks; rather, I was dressed simply in a one piece robe that went down to my knees, buttoning up into the usual Chinese choking collar at the top. Instead of the usual faded jeans, I wore loose-fitting trousers that were light and did not hamper my movements much and my arm was half-way to healed, which was good enough, as far as I was concerned, to take off the sling. 

This outfit told anyone who knew how to read it that I was on an Avatar's war-path, on a personal mission of vengeance. Technically, I was supposed to ask an honest man, a shaman, and a priestess of my Clan to bless my endeavor, but ever since…_that…_such people were impossible to find.

I swung the light sword, an epee, experimentally, twisting it about my fingers before sinking into guard position. I began a Greek Sword Dance that I had learned, quietly allowing the world around me to fade into the background as I closed my eyes in concentration. Twist, thrust, spin, swipe. The intricate Dance that some thought to be only a mass of clumsy moves, was in fact a highly controlled set of maneuvers that, when done correctly, did indeed seem like a dance. 

I danced to silent music that only I could hear, the only sound was the slipping of feet against the floor and my quiet panting. I felt my forehead start to bead with sweat, matting my black hair to the sides of my face, and the blood started pounding quickly in my veins. But the handle of the sword remained cool in my hands, flashing in a set of quick parries and strikes as my hands moved effortlessly, allowing the sword to become part of my body, and extension of my arm.

It was times like these when I felt totally in tune with myself, who I was, who I had and would be. At moments like this, I only had to read the surface of my mind to find myself. I was Titania Wong and my father was Wong Tak-Chi, a martial artist that had taught his daughter the secrets of the sword, not only in Chinese swordplay, but other forms as well. I was Tina Jordan, my mother's child, with her undeniably French, heart-shaped face and lithe movements that allowed me to move like a cat…or assassin. I blended the two halves of who I was into this single dance, a dance of honor, yet a dance also, to bring death to my enemies. A dance of strength, yet a dance of fire and strategy as well. This was Titania Jordan, Tina Wong. They were one and the same.

I finally completed my exercise, breathing deeply to dispel the short pants that were coming out of my mouth, slowly letting out the air as I stretched, not wanting to get cramps.

"You falter on the third and fifth movement."

I glanced at the Chinese boy propped against the doorway. "Yes. I cannot seem to get the sword positioned in the right position at the right time today. I can't focus my eyes." He watched silently as I stretched out the kinks in my joints, rolling my shoulder blades in their sockets to relieve the tension that the dance had caused.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead, glancing at the clock. 6:03. I sighed, picking up my sword and the rest of my gear and nodding to the other pilot as I stepped out of the room.

"You aren't going to do it over again?"

I glanced back, puzzled. "Why?"

"Your exercise was incomplete."

"…" I shrugged, hefting my sword over my shoulder and transferring my bag to my other hand. "I've got to get back to the battle plans. I've wasted enough time here."

Wufei snorted, drawing his own sword, "Just like a woman. Giving up because she is weak."

I narrowed my eyes. _Chauvinistic pig._ "Just like a man. Condemning one on grounds of weakness when it is himself who is weak."

"A woman should be seen, not heard!" Wufei snapped authoritatively, beginning his own exercises.

"A woman's greatest weapon is her tongue!" I countered, dropping my bag at the door and drawing my own sword purposefully, stomping back into the room, halfway to getting pissed. Wufei just shrugged insultingly, and I smiled with carnivorous pleasantness. "That's it, I'm challenging you to a little game of swordplay Chang Wufei."

Wufei stopped, then turned to me, a look of unfeigned surprise on his face as he squared off against me, one brow cocked before he smoothed his face back into his customary blankness. "You will fail."

I grinned back, "Let me show you the secrets of the Vorcel Hawks, Chang Wufei, the predators of sky and stealth."

"Yet the Dragon will always be stronger," he countered, extending his blade. I reached my own forward and tapped his in acceptance before falling into a guard position as he immediately lunged on an offensive attack. As I parried his blows, I noted absently that he had a heavier blade than I did and probably more experience. He was a strong tactician, his eyes calculating my moves and meeting my blows with counters of his own, skillfully maneuvering it so I was on the defensive more often than not.

__

Oh shit. What did I get myself into this time?! I wondered in exasperation. I swung my sword in a Crescent Moon attack, swinging close to his knees so he was forced to take a step back lest he got his legs chopped off. He parried quickly, so I reversed the swing upwards towards his face and he snarled, springing back a few steps.

"Assassin's tricks?!"

"Only assassin's tricks to those who do not know how to counter it!"

"Dishonorable!" He hissed, bounding forward and our swords clashing readily. I grinned, the enjoyment and exertion I found in this mirrored in his own usually placid face. Now it burned with fierce fire. He pressed his katana forward slowly, testing my strength and it was my turn to take a step back. For all his small frame, he was a very strong opponent.

"Not bad." I smiled at him, "How about we take this to a new level, Wufei?"

"I'm listening, onna." He pushed his advantage, trying to make me lose my balance as he slammed the blade downwards.

"Lets add a little footwork into this, what do you say?"

He didn't even pause to consider it, switching his mode of attack mid-assault, kicking towards my stomach. "Good." I caught his foot, throwing it upward to make him fall on his back but he simply used the momentum to do a full handless cartwheel, landing back on his feet in time to side-step my blow. Switching my epee to my left hand, I lashed out with my left foot to be met with his right, our calves slamming together. Another series of rapid-fire kicks yielded no better results as he evaded or met my attacks with equal strength and vigor.

Suddenly a palm shot forward, slamming into my nose and for a moment, I seriously saw stars, or actually more blurry blobs of shape. I shook my head, glancing up in time to see him leap towards me, katana upraised. Cursing colorfully, I threw myself to the ground and rolled away, jumping up a few feet away in mid-roll. 

"Look who's talking about dishonor!" I yelled, glaring at the Chinese, and ignoring the sting to my face, "What was that?!"

"Strategy." He replied succinctly, tossing away his katana. I sighed mentally, but threw away my epee blade as well, crouching and hands held in front of me. _This is gonna hurt. _He threw himself in a roundhouse kick, which I ducked. Coming up from my bobbing leaf position, I got under his guard, ramming my fists twice into his chest before dancing away, lightly bouncing on the balls of my feet. Not giving him time to recover, I low kicked to his knee, which he easily jumped, kicking towards my head.

"Damn! I want to keep my head where it is, thank you very much!"

"Stop talking and fight!" Wufei growled back. He was barely winded, I noticed incredulously, trying to catch my own breath. Or maybe he faked it well, since his air intake is just as fast as mine…I lunged towards him, fist cocked and he followed suit.

It was in midleap when I felt a large object crash into me, sending me careening against the wall with an "Eep! What the hell????" A quick glance at Wufei showed me that he was just as surprised as I was, and in a similar situation with Duo practically sitting on his chest.

"Hideku! What are you doing, trying to kill me?!"

"Tina, we aren't supposed to fight each other! Can't you leave off for _one_ day?! We aren't enemies here!"

"Yeah Wu-man," Duo chimed in, pinning the struggling black-haired boy to the practice room floor, "Calm down! You can hack at each other _after_ the battle! Don't you guys know that you're not supposed to kill allies?!"

"Maxwell," Wufei sputtered, "What situation has your barbaric American mind conjured up?!"

"Hideku, who said I wanted to kill Justice-boy over there!? If I wanted to, he would be dead!"

"Likewise, onna!" We glared at each other from beneath our respective friends, who were looking quite bewildered.

"So…you weren't trying to kill each other?"

__

"No!" We both yelled.

"And…uh…you guys were just practicing then," Duo chuckled nervously as Wufei gave him a Death Glare to make Heero Yuy proud.

"What do you think, you braided baka?" Wufei asked acidly, pushing Duo off. Hideko slowly let me up and I groaned.

"Hideku, I'm still convalescing. Please refrain from doing that for at least another week or so." I stood up shakily, but noticed that the room didn't seem nearly as blurry as it had when I first started. _Must be the exercise cleared up some junk up there_ I realized _Not that I would ever tell HIM._

"Uh…There's a general meeting in the rec. room, you guys…"

I glared at Wufei, hands plunked on my hips, "We'll finish this later."

He just glared back and walked out of the room in injured dignity.

"Man," I complained, turning to Duo and Hideku, "I was winning!"

"_Omae wa kuroso, onna!!!_"

***

If anyone was wondering why both Wufei and I walked into the rec. room a few hours later limping slightly with little cuts marring our face and body, no one said anything. I figured that I would probably have been limping anyway, and my sling was back on, since the fight had opened some of the wounds and I sighed, slumping into one of the seats while Wufei elected to remain standing against the wall, as usual.

"Where's Yuy?" I looked around for the taciturn Japanese pilot, but he was no where to be found.

"Heero…had a prior engagement." Quatre smiled, quiet joy touching his features despite the grimness of the situation, "He's going to rescue Relena Dorlain aboard the Libra." _So, _I thought to myself, _The perfect soldier has a weakness_ I smiled. _I guess we all have to, or we wouldn't be human._

Jus turned to a haggard-looking African boy that was sitting listlessly in a chair, barely able to stay up from exhaustion. "K'net!" I bolted upright, sore muscles complaining loudly. "When did you get back from recon.?"

He smiled tiredly, flashing white teeth, "Just now, Ti." Before anyone could say anything, like order him to bedrest, he barged ahead, "Let me report. Remember the resource satellite, MC17? That's where OZ is massing for its attack. It brought in tens of thousands of Mobile Units into the satellite and still more are arriving from Earth every day."

Duo nodded, a corner of his mouth lifted in predatory grimness, "Yeah, we know, Mobile Dolls-"

"No." K'net interrupted, "Mobile _Units_. Space Leos with human pilots." 

There was a stunned silence, then Hideku laughed harshly, "So we add the blood of ten thousand more soldiers to our hands. Damn…but I wish they were Dolls!" Trowa glanced silently at her pained features, a flicker of emotion crossing his face before it was once again hidden behind his apathetic façade. 

"Have they no reverence for life?" Quatre added softly, looking down at his hands, which were clasped tightly in fists.

"No. Treize Kushrenada believes the battle should be fought with men so all will know the _glory_ of war." There was cynicism in K'net's voice that was mirrored in all of our faces.

"He dishonors the concept of war," Wufei said venomously, "He hides behind thousands that must die for him without knowing the true pain of war."

"Nor will I fight as an ally to the White Fang," I added angrily, "Their private argument brought war to the colonies." _And Zechs Marquis heads it._ I added to myself. 

For once, Duo didn't come out with a smart-ass remark, his merry violet eyes almost black with harshness, "You're both right. So…" He grinned savagely, "Lets show _both_ of 'em what the Gundams are made of, huh?"

Trowa agreed quietly, "They must not be allowed to control the colonies or the men they command. To allow them to would make the war pointless."

Hideku looked up, "What about Copernicus?"

"Well…" Duo stretched, grinning maliciously, "Lets just say we'll deal with them when we do. At least we know exactly where they are, so if we ever need to cancel 'em, it'll be no big deal, right?"

K'net, Justin, and Hideku nodded in assent and I glanced at them, "So, we are agreed then? Good. K'net, when will the battle begin?"

"The Libra is almost ready; all it has to do is ready the beam cannon. OZ?" He rubbed his eyes wearily, "About 85% of the Earth's Sphere alliance has transferred troops up there to protect Earth. Maybe…a week? Two at most."

Cypher took charge, quietly ordering, "Tina, I know I won't be able to stop you from going over battle plans, but leave off the physical exercise or you'll be in no shape to fight. K'net, sleep. Now. The rest of you," He looked at the rest of us, "Get ready as best you can, but don't stint yourself on rest. We only have a week to prepare." He nodded, then left the room, so we all followed suit, Hideku and I walking towards the hanger bay to where Sable Tears was docked.

***

Sound of drilling screeched in the air, and with careful meticulousness, I cut out the energy source of the Flame Spear. Hideko glanced at me in exasperation, "And _why_ couldn't you use a machine for that?"

"I _am!_" I gestured towards my cutter.

"I mean one of the large ones that could take out large sections at one time."

"Well," I massaged my back, "If I accidentally cut out the connection wire with the energy source, I would technically have to remodel the _whole thing_. And besides, what if it cut too deeply? Forget remodeling, I'd have to _remake _the whole thing."

"A point." Hideko conceded, removing her own protective face-gear. "Unfortunately, we have no idea how to make the Spear stronger than it already is."

"Boosting the energy intake?"

"You'd run out of energy way too fast." Hideku sighed, studying the long metal rod that measured about ten times her height and five times her width. "If we make it longer to accommodate for the bigger energy source, it'll just be more unwieldy."

"Joy," I muttered, leaning against the rod.

"You still exhaust easily. Go back to bed." Hideku glanced back up at me in exasperation when I shook my head.

"Uh, uh. With the battle only a week away, I don't have _time_ to rest." I glanced at the dark form of Sable Tears, "I have a feeling that this is my hardest test yet, so even if I did sleep, I wouldn't get any rest." _All I'd see is the past. _

Formless ghosts still seemed to cry from Sable's formidable shadows, hands reaching, eyes tortured and pained. _When will you avenge us, Dark Phoenix of our choosing_? I moaned, hand over my face.

__

Sensei?

How could you leave us? A mother's forlorn face filled my eyes and I groaned silently. 

__

Not again…Voices, hauntingly familiar and accusing, whispered softly in my ears. And I shuddered, closing my eyes tightly, but I couldn't block out the quiet censure of my Clan. Pictures of blood and the charred houses. 

Fury, but no fear of dying, had been the last expression on my teacher's face as he bound me to the blood of the fallen, hands clutching me with unhidden strength. _As you live, remember your blood and the blood of the dead. Avenge us, Dark Phoenix, Avatar of Her hand._

"Hey!" I gave a startled yelp, glancing at Hideku who was frowning at me in puzzlement. "See, I told you that you should get some rest! You're washing out already!"

I brought myself back to the present with an effort, dropping to my knees beside Hideku, "No way. Could we establish a link to _Sable's_ power source and the Spear?"

"You mean like tapping directly into your power pack as opposed to the Spear having it's own power source?" 

"Well, we could keep the power source in as a backup in case the line gets cut." Hideku nodded, yanking a sketchbook out and began to draw up some new designs, "That would mean reconfiguring some of the wiring in Sable's energy source, maybe making it a little larger…not too much because that would interfere with your maneuverability…"

"Hmmm." I nodded, and pointed to one of the way-lines, "That'll get in the way of the power connection."

"So…we'll take it out and connect that _here_ instead."

"Won't work, _that's_ my cockpit control area!"

"Oh yeah…" 

Minutes flew by, melting into hours, and soon, we were arguing on the percentage of power that should be diverted from the main energy source to feed into the Spear.

"It must be as strong as possible," I argued, "That Gundanium armor is thick! I could barely scratch him, last time!"

"But if you put even 20% percent of energy into the Spear, you'll lose a great deal of mobility and speed," Hideku shook her head, "From what I see, you'll need all of that if you're thinking of even _outflying_ Epyon, much less _outfighting_ him." 

"What use will _outflying_ that thing be if I can't _touch_ him?"

"You'll survive that much longer." She pointed out firmly, "Now, 10%, maybe 12% of your energy enough for optimal efficiency."

"15%," I bargained, scowling, "Or it won't make a difference whether the Spear is connected to the main power source or not!"

Hideku sighed, "13% and that's it, Ti-san!" She glared back at me, eyes snapping in vexation, "I swear, remodeling for Jus is so much easier! He didn't argue quite so much!" 

I sighed as well, "_Fine_. Use the guilt trip!" She grinned and wrote down 13% tapping her pencil against her notepad. "Okay, 4% body-shielding, 75% on mobility and speed, and the rest on manual controls. Sounds good?"

I grinned, "Uh huh." A shadow fell over the doorway and I blinked, shading my eyes against the glare of light, "Oh, hey Trowa." 

Hideku suddenly jumped up, "I'll…go figure out the rest of this on my own and talk it over with you later, okay?" She brushed past Trowa, almost running out of the room and he stared after her, his face unemotional. 

"So, how's Heavyarms?"

He glanced back at me, "At a hundred percent efficiency." I nodded and he started to leave.

"Hey Trowa," He stopped again, not bothering to turn around. "You like Hideku…in a more than platonic way, don't you?" No response. _Typical. _"If you do, go slowly with her. You're rushing her into these things, so naturally, she's running from you. She doesn't trust easily…and you frighten her, especially because you're strong enough to get past her armor."

"…" I felt his eyes on my back as I pried off the metal covering to the rod, "Why are you telling me this?"

I smiled. So, he wasn't actually denying anything, was he? I guess it was a start… "I don't want you to hurt 'Daku." He tilted his face slightly in a sign of acceptance, then stepped out of the hanger bay. The door swooshed behind him and I grinned. _It was so _fun_ playing matchmaker!_ Then I sighed as my smile faded, slumping against the Spear. _Well, that's all well and good, but the final dance has not ended…_

I glanced at one of the clear plasma-glass coverings, hands involuntarily clenching. "Zechs…"

***

A week passed all too quickly, full of ordered chaos and taut nerves. Upgrades were made on all the existing Gundams, making them stronger, quicker, more ready to fight. 

I watched the moon soberly, trying to find comfort in its cold, aloft position and serene surface, but all I could see was the upcoming battle. I sighed. Things once so clear, were so _difficult_. As a soldier, I fought alone. It was easiest that way, needing only to protect yourself and your Gundam. There was less responsibility that way. I heard a soft step and turned slightly. _Wufei._

"I didn't expect you here." He just snorted, leaning against the workout room's wall with practiced grace.

"Tomorrow, will be the day of the final battle."

"Yes, I know." I stared into the cold beauty of space, wondering why I could not lose myself in it's darkness. It would have been so much easier that way…

Thus, the last fire of the Pheonix must be the brightest, the best, for a Pheonix rises only once a millennia. A voice rang in my mind and I blinked, startled. Was this the last day, then? The Tears of thousands will fall tomorrow, I thought sadly, because they don't understand the true threat of war. Why can't they understand?

"You are uncertain." 

I sighed, feeling him intrude on my introverted thoughts, "Yes."

"If you plan to show your weakness, onna, do so before the battle so your mind will be clear tomorrow when we must fight."

I glanced mockingly at him, "And you will listen then?"

"Yes." His quiet assent took me by surprise. Since _when_ did a chauvinistic male ever listen? I opened my mouth to tell him off, then thought a moment before I spoke. It would be good to get some of this off my shoulders at any rate…

"It's Zechs." He didn't speak, just glanced down at his feet as he concentrated on the conversation, "He is my enemy. I know that. Tomorrow, he will die to avenge the dishonor he has placed upon me and my own." Unconsciously, I slipped into a formal syntax, letting the icy words drop to the floor like shattered crystals, "Yet…in his death, will I be avenged? Will it set the ghosts to lie, or will they continue to haunt me for the rest of my life?" I sighed uncertainly, "I do not know these answers, thus this concern me." 

"Vengeance?"

"My mission. Almost as important to me as peace in the colonies." I said softly. "Yet now, I find myself at crossroads between past and present. Shall I guard those that depend on me now, or shall I guard the memory of my Clan? Who is the true enemy? Zechs…or my own uncertainties?" I shook my head, "I find I cannot see the answers as I once could."

"That is your weakness." He said in a matter of fact tone, "The choice is there, thus you must seek your own definition of honor."

"Is honor so important then?" I asked quietly and felt his obsidian eyes gleam in the darkness, reflections of the lunar placement glittering in his eyes.

"Honor is _everything_."

I sighed again, turning my face back to the stars so that he could not see the sadness that washed over my face. Honor was everything. But what honor? To whom? Was it more important to assure myself of Zechs' death, or was it more important to keep the others safe? We said nothing after that, just kept each other company with our presence though our minds were far cast into our own thoughts. After all, to each his own demon. I felt ice settle over my heart as training dictated that I not worry about trivialities and focus on the upcoming battle.

The moon was bright, yet even that could not dispel the shadows that lay within my mind. What was I going to do?

***

Hideku made last-minute adjustments on Trinity, and felt a prickle of awareness run down her neck. She stiffened instantly and clenched the screwdriver in her hand. He had been watching her for over a week now, not making any overtures other than a quick hand when needed, or a slight acknowledgement in greeting. She couldn't figure out whether to be disappointed or relieved.

__

What are you talking about?! She berated herself angrily, brushing her hair back, _You're relieved. He was…is a distraction that you cannot afford in battle. People are depending on you, so you have to be able to fight with a clear mind._

"Tomorrow's the final battle. Miss Noin will be joining us in the White Tauros."

"Noin?" Hideku looked up in surprise, "Who is she?"

"Lieutenant Lucrezia Noin."

"Oh." There was another awkward silence and Hideku wished that he would just leave as she bent back over her work, averting her face as she tightened the bolts on her battleaxe, checking to make sure all the connection wires were in place. 

"Our mission objective is to destroy Libra and the asteriod base."

Hideku nodded, not looking up. "Understood." Suddenly, the wire that held the axe still snapped and all Hideku could do was utter a surprised cry before she felt herself being slamming into the farther wall as the axe fell heavily onto the catwalk, making a hollow clang before it ceased to roll. 

Trowa was lying almost on top of her and she blushed furiously as he pushed himself to his elbows, regarding her emotionlessly, "Are you okay?" Hideku nodded, thankful for the darkness in the hanger room as he got up and lifted her to her feet.

"Thanks." She hastily stepped back, brushing off her jeans, "I owe you."

He nodded, proceeding to the crane in order to reattach the battleaxe. "You should be more careful."

"Yeah." Hideku hugged herself against the frigid air. Accomplishing his objective, Trowa bounded off the crane to land in front of Hideku, making her rear away slightly. She had a confused, worried expression on her face, but no true fear.

Trowa didn't quite understand what her hold over him was, only that she reached out to him as only his adoptive sister Catherine Bloom could do. But while Cathy had been openly supportive, almost loud in her love, this girl in front of him barely acknowledged his existence except with trepidation and suspicion. But inside, he saw the same core of iron will that made up his sister, the part that was strong and shone with an inner light. The part that would do anything to protect those she loved.

"You're hurt!" Hideku grabbed Trowa's arm, pushing back the torn edge of the green material as she examined a nasty gash.

He glanced at his arm, a slight smile of amusement on his face. "It's nothing."

She made a face at him, forgetting her fear, "Yeah, sure. That's why _nothing_ is bleeding, right?" She yanked him out the door. "You're just as bad as Tina in that respect. Never admits when she's hurt either!" Leading him to the rec. room, she directed him to a seat and pulled out a first aid box from the cabinet, filling a small pan with water.

Sitting by him, she gave a start and then began to blush. She seemed to be doing a lot of blushing when he was around, she thought in embarrassed annoyance. "Um…you'll…uh…have to take off your shirt, Trowa." He nodded and took off his usual green turtleneck sweater. Fixing her eyes on the wound only, she started cleaning it with water and disinfectant soap.

"Are you worried about tomorrow?"

Hideku bit her lip in concentration, "A little bit…but it's only the usual jitters. It's the same as any other mission. We'll go, we'll fight, and we'll come home…or not."

"You aren't afraid of death?"

Hideku shrugged, applying some alcohol with a cotton swab. "Life's cheap. Especially mine." There was a hollowness in her voice that mirrored what he had felt before he had met Cathy. "When the war's over, where am I gonna go, anyway? Back to the brothel? No thank you." She emphasized her words, tying the bandage on tightly, "There. That's that." She gave him a fake smile and started putting everything back in place, avoiding the compassion in his green eyes.

"Hideku-"

"I don't need your sympathy," She interrupted fiercely, clicking the box shut, "I don't want it. I'll survive as I always have. And that, my friend, is that."

"Am I?"

"Huh?" Hideku looked at Trowa in puzzlement, "Are you what?"

"Your friend."

"Uh…" Hideku fiddled with the box, standing up to put it away. "Well, seeing how you haven't tried to kill me or anything yet, I guess…"

He smiled softly at her back, but when she turned, all she saw was his usual placid face, "Thank you."

Hideku smiled uncertainly back, but no matter how hesitant, it was a genuine smile. It changed the usual harsh lines of her face, bringing highlights to her brown eyes, changing her from a cynical soldier to a shy fifteen-year old.

The door slipped open and Duo came strolling in, whistling cheerfully, "Hell…o?" He leaned against the doorway, head halfway inside, grinning mischievously as he glanced from Hideku to a shirtless Trowa. "Am I interrupting something here?" 

Hideku went up in flames while Trowa merely put his turtleneck back on, saying dryly, "Get your mind out of the gutter, Maxwell."

"Me?" He batted his eyes innocently, "What'd I say?"

"Trowa was hurt and I-" Hideku rushed out, twisting her hands into knots, her cheeks a hectic cooked-lobster color.

But Duo just started cracking up, hands up as he left the room, "Hey, not for me to judge, babe. Go back to whatever you were doing, I'll just leave."

"Please." Trowa replied as Duo left the room. He glanced at Hideku, "You okay?"

She smiled wobbily and started laughing helplessly, "Oh God, we don't even know what rumor he's going to spread now."

"Somewhere along the lines of you and I are making out in the rec. room, I presume." Trowa shrugged, "Let him. It'll improve morale." A small smile was playing around his lips as he watched Hideku collapse on the ground in fits of laughter.

"Tina's gonna really get a dose of cold water in the face over this one."

Trowa thought back on the advice he had been given by a certain black-haired girl, and folded his arms, a rare rumble of laughter erupting briefly. "I doubt that." 

(NO! If any of you people are wondering, they did _not_ do anything other than talk for the rest of the evening, okay?! ARIC, you know I'm talking to YOU!!) 

***

Duo stumbled into the main control area where most of the pilots had decided to congregate, still laughing his head off. "You will _not_ believe what I just saw." Quatre looked up from his talk with Justin, smiling with resigned amusement at the garrulous American pilot. Not for the first time, Quatre thanked any deity that was listening for including Duo in the list of pilots chosen to pilot the Gundams. His good nature had always lightened their hearts before a battle and he saw that the others were also responding with animated curiosity. 

"What is it, Duo?" He asked, covering a smile with his hand.

"Trowa and Hideku are making out in the rec. room." Justin and Cypher glanced at each other and K'net grinned slightly, extending a hand to Justin.

"Fork it over." 

Justin grumbled, withdrawing a five-dollar bill and handing it to the other pilot, "Damn. How'd you know?" K'net grinned, tucking the bill into some hidden pocket in his trench coat.

"Easy. I asked a little bird." Justin groaned louder, slumping theatrically in his seat. 

"That's not fair. You didn't say anything about asking Tina for insider information!"

"I didn't say anything about _not_ asking Tina either." K'net countered and Duo grinned at the two other pilots.

"You guys bet on whether they would get together?" 

K'net and Justin glanced at each other as Cypher put his head in his palm, muttering something about needing more painkillers when Hideku found out. Justin shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets, "Sorta. I just wish they did it before we had to go to battle tomorrow." A grimness entered his eyes, banishing his humor, "It's going to be hard."

There was a silence, which Duo cracked impatiently, trying to restore the mood, "That's tomorrow." He opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of sake, "For now…" He wiggled the bottle invitingly and Quatre sighed.

"Duo, we're fifteen."

"So? I was stealing at five. What's the difference except another chapter in your life?" He grinned devilishly and the others smiled unwillingly back at him, although they refused.

"We need to be sober tomorrow." Cypher replied, "And while _I_ am old enough, I wouldn't touch the stuff. Destroys brain cells you know." Duo frown and tossed the bottle back in the fridge.

"No sense in getting drunk alone." He sighed, letting the grim mood of the room depress him slightly. "Maybe we should call a general meeting. I'll get Wufei."

"I…don't suggest it, Duo!" Quatre called after him, "He and Tina are sparring in the workout room last time I checked. They're really good, you know," He added to Justin, "I wonder how Tina learned how to fight."

Justin shrugged, "She keeps that to herself. Whenever I ask, all she says is, 'I _can_ fight, and that's all you need to know.' Which is true, I guess."

Duo shrugged, "Now that is one chick that likes her privacy. Every time I ask anything about where she came from, what she did, she just gives me this 'say-another-word-and-I'll-kill-you' glare and walks away. Even Heero lightens up _sometimes_."

"He does?" Quatre asked curiously, "When?"

"Well…there was a time where he laughed maniacally after blowing up one of the OZ bases on Earth." Duo grinned, "Does that count?" 

"Uh…" Quatre glanced at the others, "I don't quite think so."

"Oh well, I tried," Duo leaned against the wall, "I wonder what he's doing right now."

"Probably blowing up a part of Libra in order to get to Relena Dorlain PeaceCraft." Justin looked at Duo, "Maybe laughing maniacally?"

"Maybe."

Cypher stood up, "I'm turning in. I suggest the rest of you get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Best we be rested enough to meet the day." With a sigh, the pilots dispersed, each seeking their own bed to dream their own troubled dreams.

***

The controls were cool in my hands, sleek rubber over metal. Actually, the whole cockpit was mainly coated in non-conducting material, right down the wiring, the toggles, and most of the controls. I watched as the other pilots got into their Gundams and silently bid them good luck. Hideku and Trowa were talking quietly in front of Trinity and I smiled smugly despite the tense situation.

"So, you took my advice, did you Trowa?" Flipping on the manual controls, Sable Tears hummed to life, and I could almost see her violet eyes flashing with dangerous fire as Sable stood up, the connection cables snapping off her body. Keying my communications system, I opened my channels just in time to hear Duo yell, "All right people! Let's get in our Gundams and kick some ass, Shinigami style!" I groaned, hearing others doing the same. _Didn't anything faze that boy?!_

With Heero gone, Trowa became the default leader as he coolly blasted out of the docking bay, the eight of us hot on his heels. "I'm dividing us into pairs. K'net and Justin, go after the White Fang's Mobile Dolls. Cypher and Duo, you've got the Leos. Hideku, Quatre, and I will be watching your backs and Tina-"

I gave him a bleep of refusal as a crimson Mobile Unit emerged from Libra, heading straight for battle. "He's here." I slammed onto the controls, blasting towards the rapidly approaching Epyon with a feral grin stretched across my face. "I swore to avenge what was mine…_Zechs! Prepare to meet the Phoenix!"_

Trowa was silent for a moment before he continued. "I'm changing plans. Wufei, pair up with Quatre and-"

"Not today." Wufei had also split from the main group, heading in the opposite direction towards Trieze's Tallgeese II. "Treize Kushrenada will learn today of the true meaning of justice!" His heavily modified Altron sped towards the motionless Tallgeese, his triton already upraised in anticipation.

There was another moment of exasperated silence, then Duo complained, "Is it just me, or do those two really think on the same wavelength?"

Quatre's voice burst in, anxious, but firm, "We can't worry about that now. We have to stop this battle, now! We don't need any more deaths in space!" Bringing the pilots back to reality, the others nodded firmly and split off into their respective groups, intent on stopping the battle that was just starting to unfold in front of them.

***

"_Zechs!!!_" Milliardo PeaceCraft looked up in wary surprise as the Zero system installed in Epyon beeped urgently, signaling an enemy attack. 

"Wha-?!" He barely managed to get his beam saber in place before a glowing red-orange rod aimed for Epyon's chest swung downward. Electricity crackled dangerously between the two Mobile Units, sparks playing over their shoulders and arms like writhing snakes.

Switching to the Zero system, Milliardo looked and saw a furious, young girl with dark hair and wide blue eyes screaming a war cry in her cockpit. "For the dishonor you have placed upon me and my own, I will bring you to the justice of the last of the Phoenixes! May you burn for all eternity in hell!" Removing the Spear, she piked it upwards through his guard, but Zechs moved Epyon away quickly so all she hit was a breath of air.

"So, it's you again."

She snarled in rage, her eyes crazy, as if she was being controlled by a Zero system as well. Zechs checked, but found that all she was acting on was her own anger. _I wonder what I did to her to make her hate me_. He wondered, a little wearily, his heart cold. But he was a soldier, and such things did not matter in battle. Uncoiling his whip, he lashed it towards the other Gundam, but she dodged it neatly, opening up her missile hatches. Two heat seekers exploded from the hatches on her forearm and slammed into Epyon's chest, making it rock backwards a little. However, they did minimal damage against his armor as he recovered quickly.

"You are making this personal…that isn't a wise thing to do."

"Don't talk to me about _wisdom_ Zechs!" There. An unmistakable note of pain in her voice. "Your greatest mistake was _ever_ trying to attack my Clan!" As the whip streaked towards her again, she didn't evade it, merely blocked it with her Spear, letting it coil about it like a giant serpent. She yanked on the Spear, pulling him in like a fish on a line.

"I no longer go by that name." Milliardo dislodged his whip and sprang towards her in a frontal assault that involved a series of hacking motions as he tried to slash into her cockpit, disabling manual controls.

"It doesn't matter what name you go by, Zechs Marquis, once of OZ, soon of hell!" Tina evaded his attacks, spinning Sable Tears into a barrel roll in an attempt to get behind him, "Your past actions condemn you, and no matter how many names you hide behind, I swear I will always find you! No matter where, I'll find you, and I'll destroy you!"

Milliardo laughed unpleasantly. She was not the first one that had threatened him like that. "You want to kill me…and I don't even know you. How quaint."

"Oh you know me all right." The other Gundam sped backwards as the pilot choked on pained laughter, "_You know me!_ Think about it. I haven't changed so much in four years, have I, Zechs Marquis, destroyer of the Clan of the Phoenix? Do you recognize me? Ask your precious Epyon, and it'll tell you all you need to know!" 

Puzzled, Milliardo did as she demanded and as information flooded his mind, his eyes widened in shock. Gripping the controls tightly, he whispered, "You…"

*** 

Duo glanced at Cypher's MoonLady, "You okay over there?"

"Fine." There was a slight strain in Cypher's voice as another Leo exploded in his face and Cypher winced away from the light, swinging his pike around to meet another enemy. _How can I do this? It goes against every oath I've ever taken to preserve and save lives! How did a doctor get involved in this war?_

"Come on, bud. Lighten up! Just focus on the mission!"

"I know." Cypher replied sadly, "I just can't help but think that there has to be a better way." 

"Come again?"

"When I became a doctor, I took oaths to preserve and protect." Duo's green scythe cut cleanly into a Leo, another flare of light sparking briefly. "This fighting goes against every oath I've taken. I knew I would have to kill when I became a pilot. I wanted to help the colonies. But it doesn't make killing human pilots any easier knowing that I'm doing it for a good cause."

Duo grinned, a trifle grimly, "Yeah, well I dunno what to say about that, Cyph. I'm a Shinigami. As I've seen, anyone around me dies, whether I want them to or not. It's just the way my life goes." The two Gundams neatly evading a few bolts from the less heavily equipped Leo's, simultaneously cleaving it in half.

Cypher sighed quietly. "Yes. The life of a soldier." MoonLady and DeathScythe sprang upwards, dodging back into the battle, weapons held at ready alert.

***

Hideku bit back a cry when a bolt of energy slammed into Trinity's chest, moving forward stubbornly to cut the Doll into two pieces. "Dolls, Dolls, Dolls. I _hate_ Dolls!" She whispered passionately, a machine gun that had been built into Trinity's shoulders firing rapidly in undiscriminating rounds. 

"Why can't you figure out that this death is _meaningless!_" she screamed, her battle axe destroying another Mobile Unit.

"Hideku, a Doll is approaching you from behind." Trowa's calm voice bolstered her as she spun around to meet the threat.

With a cry of pure frustration, she brought her axe down on the Mobile Doll, disregarding the spray of shrapnel that cut against her Gundam.

Quatre ordered, "Hideku, _calm down!_" even though distress was evident in his own voice, "I know this is hard, but we have to keep our cool in this battle!" Hideku swallowed hard, trying to regain her calm.

"Yes…I-I understand." Fixing her face in a stern mask, she began systematically totaling everything in her path, trying to disregard the pained screams of dying soldiers. _Why? Why are you making me do this?_ She asked the scientists miserably, _This death, this murder, is so meaningless…_

Trowa seemed to agree, because he said calmly, "Quatre, go to Libra and try to disengage the controls for the Mobile Dolls. If they stop fighting, there'll be a higher chance that the Leos will stop fighting as well."

"Right." Quatre broke off and started speeding towards Libra, sickles clenched in his hands. "You try to get a cease-fire command to the Leos."

Hideku followed Trowa, whispering quietly, "Thank you, Trowa." Trowa nodded silently in acknowledgement, as they sped toward the leading flagship of OZ.

***

"You…that child!" Milliardo whispered, and the other pilot laughed, having calmed down somewhat. But there was still a note of bitter anger in her voice.

"Why so surprised, PeaceCraft? I told you that day that no matter what, I would kill you. Even as my mother died in my arms, I swore it!" The two pilots had disregarded the rest of the battle, focusing only on each other as the hung motionless, separated only by space and tension.

"I didn't expect you to still be alive," Was that regret in his voice? I blocked out the thought with single-minded determination. He was her enemy. That was all she needed to know.

"Oh, I survived. This is what I am, a tin soldier in a Gundanium hull, and _you made me_, Zechs Marquis. You made me!" Emotion that had been pent-up for years rushed into her voice, making it crack with fury, as Sable Tears readied herself for the next attack. "Fight me, Zechs. Show me your definition of honor!" 

Zechs uncoiled his whip again, but I seemed to evade every lash as she slammed her Spear into the joint that connected Epyon's arm to the rest of his body. There was a screech of pure energy against metal before the arm sheared off dangling uselessly in space. I darted backwards, wanting to feel the heady mixture of triumph and andrenaline…but she didn't. All she felt was the hollowness of more death as she regarded the Epyon with apathetic eyes.

__

What's wrong with me? With him? She wondered, looking at the Flame Spear with weary confusion. _He's my enemy. I have to kill him…to avenge my Clan. Aren't I right? Why isn't he attacking?_ Zechs made no move to attack again and she almost cried in frustration.

"Fight me!" She opened the missile hatches on her arm and two of them slammed into Epyon's motionless body, jolting it backwards, but Zechs made no move to defend himself. "Fight me! I can't kill you unless you fight back!" Darting forward, I pressed her Spear against Epyon's neck. Dimly, she noted that tears of ice were coursing down her cheeks in a silent flood. "Why won't you fight back?" She whispered, and saw that her hands were trembling with the strain of holding back.

"If you want to kill me, you'll have to do it alone." Came the calm reply and I choked on a sob.

"You can't even _die_ with honor?" I sent Sable's fist slamming into Epyon's gut, where the cockpit was. "What kind of _man_ are you, anyway, huh? What kind of _soldier_ are you?!" There was no response and I drew back, leveling the Spear at Epyon with a furious glint in her eyes. For an endless moment, they hung in a motionless tableau, red on black, the colors of death.

"Well?" Zech's voice asked calmly and I slowly lowered the Spear, choking in shame at her own weakness.

"You want to die…want me to kill you. You're so selfish!" The Flame Spear extinguished itself and I panted heavily, but not from exertion. "You don't care what your men will do with you gone. Do you care?" 

Zechs responded coldly, "If you don't kill me now, you might regret it later."

I didn't say anything, just closed her eyes. This man before her…the one that she hated, that she had sworn to kill…He was no more than a paper figure. A man too tired of war, yet a soldier nonetheless, with his own set of orders. 

__

We are all soldiers caught up in this hell that was not of our making, following orders like an automated machine. She thought tiredly, feeling the anger trickle out of her like water through a sieve. _All so blind…_For once, she started wondering at the people she had killed, their families, wondered if any of them hated her like she hated him…She opened her clenched fists, staring down at her hands. Blood stained her nails where they had clenched into skin and eight small crescent moons dotted her palms with crimson liquid. 

"I am so tired of war." She said aloud, leaning back in her chair. A movement jolted her out of her reverie and she glanced at her monitor, seeing Heero in Zero by her side. _He must have gotten it during the time me and Zechs were fighting_ she thought numbly.

"The Mobile Dolls have been deactivated, but Libra is falling towards Earth." His emotionless voice filtered through my com system. "If you're finished here, it's time to leave." I nodded once and shot Sable Tears after his retreating ion trail.

As I left, I keyed my com system, "Zechs…you're a coward. You turned your back on what you believed in when you became a OZ soldier, then betrayed your beliefs again when you became the leader of the White Fang. As your punishment, I _won't_ kill you. May you remember every damnable deed, every person you've killed, every life you've destroyed. I make this life your own personal hell, Zechs. Have fun." There was no response…but then, I really didn't expect one. What could he have said if he replied?

***

"Damn, damn, damn!" A few minutes later, I was with the other pilots, streaking towards the falling hull of a ship. "I'm going to try to enter Libra. Blow it from the inside. Stay clear." Adding more fuel to my thrusters, I urged Sable faster, gritting my teeth against the G-forces that pulled me into my seat. I glanced out the side of my monitor and started in surprise as I saw Wing Zero ahead of me. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"You don't have enough firepower." Was the calm reply.

"Who said anything about firepower? There's only one way to totally destroy Libra, and both you and I know it. Self-destruction." Heero didn't say anything so I followed him in as he blasted a hole into Libra's hull. Absently, I noted Peacemillion sticking out of Libra like a splinter and wondered how it had got there. We got into the main generating center, and I grimaced, hopping out of my Gundam.

"What are you trying to do?" Heero asked sarcastically as I made a beeline for the control console, typing furiously.

I started typing in commands to Libra, swearing as I read the printout information. "This thing is on a one way course into Earth, Heero. It'll take about ten minutes to do a full course change on it."

"We don't have enough time."

"Yeah, I noticed." I glared at the unmovable form of Wing Zero, "Get your ass outta here, Heero. I'm gonna set Sable on self-destruct now."

"No." He said calmly, "Get into your Gundam." I grimaced but did as he said as he raised his firearm and leveled it on the core of Libra. _Click_. Empty. Well, so much for that idea. I started typing the self-destruct sequence of Sable Tears and it beeped urgently.

"_Thus, the last fire of the Pheonix must be the brightest, the best, for a Pheonix rises only once a millennia._" I muttered, the self-destruct toggle appearing at my fingers. "Okay Heero, self-destruct commencing at-what the hell-?!" Suddenly, the red figure of Epyon blasted its way through the hull, eyes glowing crazily. Zechs knocked Sable and Wing Zero aside and I snarled a curse.

"What are you _doing!_" I yelled, trying to steady Sable as the floor rocked from underneath her.

"I have my own sins to repay," Milliardo's harsh voice answered as he sliced his beam saber in a vertical line, jamming it into the core with brutal accuracy. "Go!"

"Bu-"

"Go! Are you afraid I'm gonna die?!" There was a wealth of fury and emotion in his voice, "I'm not! I'll survive this! I will!"

"Zechs!!"

"GO!" The core started going critical, but even as it started glowing hotly, I realized that it wouldn't destroy the whole ship.

"It's not strong enough! Part of it'll still smash into Earth!" I activated the self-destruct sequence and grinned savagely, "Guess we're gonna die together, aren't we, Zechs?"

Zechs cursed and turned to Heero, "Get her out of here, Heero Yuy!" 

Heero hesitated then opened his cockpit, saying coldly, "Tina, we're leaving…_now_."

I spat on the screen, but Zechs' voice said calmly, "You have to live. Because if you die, your clan dies with you! Do you want to hold the responsibility for that when you meet your ancestors, last of the Phoenix?" 

I hissed furiously, but got out, going into Wing Zero just as Sable started glowing with an eerie white light. "You fight dirty Zechs!"

He laughed, a blood chilling chuckle, "Go! And we _will_ meet again! And _next_ time, I won't be so easy on you!" Zero shot out of the hole Epyon had come in by, explosion after explosion rocking the ship around us. I gritted my teeth, clamping onto the armrest as I fought to stay upright.

"Hold on." As fire erupted from Libra in a thousand gouts of flame and shrapnel, we shot out of it, glancing back at the ruined ship. It seemed to shudder, contract on itself, then blow up in a fantastic display of falling stars. I gazed numbly at it, searching for any sign of my enemy, but finding nothing but dead, floating metal.

"Idiot." I whispered, and Heero looked emotionlessly at me. 

"He did what he thought was best." Heero turned Wing Zero to the waiting committee, and their cheers of triumph. But I didn't feel triumphant, only weary…so tired. Perhaps they thought they had won something, but I felt as if I had just lost another piece of my humanity.

***

__

Hey Hideku. Don't worry, I'm still alive, as Heero would have told you if you had bothered to ask him. I just needed to get away for a little while…find out who I was, what I'm going to do from here. It's been a really rough ride through all of this…and right now, I don't feel like celebrating. The war's over, everything is back to relatively normal…something that I can't be a part of, because I represent the past, the past born of blood and death. I hope you understand, and I don't want you to be angry at me for it…Please say you aren't. 

I promise when I figure these things out, I'll come back and visit. But until then, please have a good life, and the same to the others. Hideku…stay with Trowa. In his own way, he really cares about you, and I know you care about him. You guys really make a fantastic couple. Your friend always, Tina Jordan, 

***

__

Hey, if you're reading this, then I know you're well. Everyone's fine here. I'm working in the circus now, and Trowa's sister, Cathy, is adorable! _She's wonderful and helped me get through the first few months here without quitting. I'm doing Shin'an sword-dances for a living at the circus and Trowa's trying to get me to do a performance with the lions. Fat chance. Don't worry, I haven't killed anyone yet, on accident or otherwise. K'net's gone back to his illegal activity *ahem ahem* but in the service of the Preventors, so _technically_ it's not illegal, right? I know what you're thinking. K'net on the good guy's side? Who knew? Jus is working as one of Relena Dorlain's chief advisers. Cypher? Well, lets say it's not a big surprise to know Cypher is, of course, working as a pediatrician. He's having a ball with the younger kids._

A brief smile lit the reader's lips.

__

Oh yeah, Chang Wufei is waiting impatiently for you to go to the new colony L3a. He says, and I quote, to tell that "worthless onna to stop flittering about in space and help train these weak excuses for adoptees into the Dragon Clan on justice and honor in warfare." I can't tell if that's a compliment or just another backhanded slam at us feminists. Remember the commander of the Peacemillion? Yeah, well, Sally sends her love. Did I tell you she seems to be visiting colony L3a very often lately? ^-^ I guess someone did have to tame the Dragon eventually.

She laughed out loud this time, the sound of rusty bells that caught the attention of some pedestrians who glanced curiously at her before hurrying away. A mittened-hand flipped to the next page of the letter.

Duo and Hilde opened up a garage or something. You know, the girl that got Duo the info on the Libra. Quatre's gone back to being the billionaire of the Winner family, and that's about it. So, write back, or better yet, COME back. We miss you, all of us. And if you ever cross paths with Heero Yuy, tell him Relena Dorlain is still waiting for him. But don't try to kill him in order to make him come with you. It has to be of his own free will, she says. 

Anyway, love, kisses, and lion roars,

Hideku Kuora

I carefully pocketed the letter, watching the people go about their daily business without the customary heavy heart. They walked lazily about, talking, laughing, and I smiled silently to myself. Peace. Suddenly, a familiar mop of dark brown hair caught my eye, and remembering what the letter said, I uncoiled myself from my lounging position, I yelled, "Hey, Yuy!" 

The boy stopped, half turning towards me as I walked up to him and waved the letter in his face. He was wearing his usual forest-green tank top, but a pair of light blue jeans instead of his muscle shorts and I asked casually, "What're you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Ms. Relena Dorlain? She says she's waiting for you. But I'm not allowed to coerce you back to Earth. Too bad, huh?" He blinked blue Prussian eyes at me, then smiled slightly, catching me totally off guard. He was actually handsome when he smiled, not maniacally, but in peace. 

Then he put his forefinger to his lips before he walked off into the crowd, never saying a word, and I laughed softly to myself.

"So that's the way of things, is it, Heero Yuy? Be that as it may, I will do as you ask, but you'll go back to her when you finally open your eyes." Tossing my coke can in the trash, I headed towards the airport, going back home, back to the people that mattered most to me. The wind twirled the brown leaves higher into the sky in an endless waltz, and I smiled, catching one of them in my outstretched hands, stopping the swirling dance. "Don't you know?" I asked it, "The dance is over." The wind tugged urgently at the leaf and I let it go back into the maelstrom of chaotic movement. It was a new life, uncertain, exciting, full of danger and mystery, but full of hope for a child that had lost everything and now sought to regain it.

I smiled, and silver laughter spiraled into the air in tandem with the billowing maneuvers of leaves. Life was a dance, never-ending motions that caught people in it's silent embrace and never let them go….

Authors note: Okay, that's it. I hope you enjoyed it. And yeah, I didn't know Peacemillion had a rec. room and a workout room either. It just seemed a waste to not use all that space in that ship! So…you never really see the total picture on Tina's past (please don't kill me) but…if you want to find out about that, I guess that's in my sequel…if I write it at any rate. So, r&r please and…flames? Uh…heh heh *sweatdrops*…sure, why not? I'm partial to fire… but… uh…make it gentle guys. _This is my first fan-fic, give me a break! _*tears come to eyes* Luv y'all. From an ordinary psychopath: TJ


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